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So I happened upon this blog (obviously biased in my opinion) comparing a "typical" school lunch served to children these days.  After looking at that blog, I did a quick search and stumbled across this article that supposedly shows what a "typical" lunch looks like that is served to school children from different countries.

 

A few questions that I have.  First, how much does a lunch cost in Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, etc. county schools cost?  Second, does it resemble any of the photos from either blog?  Finally, I would absolutely devour the lunches from Brazil or Italy (can't decide on which looks better).  Which looks good to you?

Quote:So I happened upon this blog (obviously biased in my opinion) comparing a "typical" school lunch served to children these days.  After looking at that blog, I did a quick search and stumbled across this article that supposedly shows what a "typical" lunch looks like that is served to school children from different countries.

 

A few questions that I have.  First, how much does a lunch cost in Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, etc. county schools cost?  Second, does it resemble any of the photos from either blog?  Finally, I would absolutely devour the lunches from Brazil or Italy (can't decide on which looks better).  Which looks good to you?

 

My kids have "free" lunch.  "Free" breakfast and lunch, in fact.  (This is one of the better Duval schools.)

 

Not because we qualify as a family, but because the school as a whole "qualifies" (% of children from qualifying families meets a certain threshold.)

 

Our tax dollars at work.  I don't care the percentage, those who are able to pay should.  I don't need or want a handout.

 

But it's "paid" regardless, and yes we do pack our kids' lunch.

 

Long gone were the days where it was run like a business/kitchen, and everything was made from scratch like my Grandmother did as head cook at school.  Things went from fresh, to frozen, to mandated institutional today.

Quote:My kids have "free" lunch.  "Free" breakfast and lunch, in fact.  (This is one of the better Duval schools.)

 

Not because we qualify as a family, but because the school as a whole "qualifies" (% of children from qualifying families meets a certain threshold.)

 

Our tax dollars at work.  I don't care the percentage, those who are able to pay should.  I don't need or want a handout.

 

But it's "paid" regardless, and yes we do pack our kids' lunch.

 

Long gone were the days where it was run like a business/kitchen, and everything was made from scratch like my Grandmother did as head cook at school.  Things went from fresh, to frozen, to mandated institutional today.

 

Interesting.  When I was in elementary school, I seem to remember that lunches were like $0.10 or $0.15.  I remember my mother giving us money to pay for our lunches for the month, and it was usually only around a couple of dollars.

 

When I got a bit older, I used to take my lunch to school (through grades 6-8).  When I got to high school I had a choice of either packing a lunch or buying it, and I seem to recall it costing around $1.00 or so for a cafeteria meal.

 

Breakfast was never available when I was growing up, only lunches and I remember that they were usually pretty good.

 

I don't remember how much we paid for our children's lunches when they were in school.  I do remember that as they got older, my wife used to pack a lunch for them.

We need to be taking notes from other countries.

Quote:We need to be taking notes from other countries.

 

Agree.  Who would not want to have this for lunch?

 

I never knew that borscht was purple...

Quote:I never knew that borscht was purple...

You realize it's made from beets, right? Lol

Quote:You realize it's made from beets, right? Lol

I do now, but I'd never known that before. I mean, for all the cartoons that made fun of borscht when I was a kid, they all showed a gelatinous gray mass when picturing it, not a gelatinous purple mass...

Quote:I do now, but I'd never known that before. I mean, for all the cartoons that made fun of borscht when I was a kid, they all showed a gelatinous gray mass when picturing it, not a gelatinous purple mass...

Yep...beet soup. Doesn't that sound about as yummy as a gelatinous gray mass??

Quote:Yep...beet soup. Doesn't that sound about as yummy as a gelatinous gray mass??

Slightly less appetizing, actually.

Quote:Agree.  Who would not want to have this for lunch?

 

 

For some reason I have my doubts that all Italian schools serve lunches like this. But I could be wrong.

Quote:Yep...beet soup. Doesn't that sound about as yummy as a gelatinous gray mass??

 

I've never actually had "beet soup" but I love beets.  When I was really young my whole family pretty much turned their noses up when it came to beets, but my mother spoiled me and used to cook them for me.

Quote:For some reason I have my doubts that all Italian schools serve lunches like this. But I could be wrong.

 

I have my doubts regarding both blogs that I initially posted.  One particular thing to note regarding the pictures, they don't show actual portion sizes with any kind of scale.  Is the photo that I posted a "big hearty meal" or a light meal?

 

One thing that I do know is that there is a difference between our "typical meal" and a "typical meal" from foreign countries.  Our portions tend to be so much bigger.

I got out of school 9 years ago, food looked roughly like that, I stopped eating school lunch in middle school though. 

Quote:For some reason I have my doubts that all Italian schools serve lunches like this. But I could be wrong.

So do I.


And if it's one thing I'm absolutely not worried about, it's how much Americans, and American kids in particular, are getting to eat.

Quote:So I happened upon this blog (obviously biased in my opinion) comparing a "typical" school lunch served to children these days.  After looking at that blog, I did a quick search and stumbled across this article that supposedly shows what a "typical" lunch looks like that is served to school children from different countries.

 

A few questions that I have.  First, how much does a lunch cost in Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, etc. county schools cost?  Second, does it resemble any of the photos from either blog?  Finally, I would absolutely devour the lunches from Brazil or Italy (can't decide on which looks better).  Which looks good to you?

Italy's lunch looked good, but it is a shame what is served in our schools and for the price you pay I feel as if we are being cheated.

If you as an adult wouldn't eat it why would you pay for you child to have it?

The sad thing is our First Lady, Obama's wife Michelle made this her main thing for the last 8 years and its way worse than it ever was before she got involved.

Quote:For some reason I have my doubts that all Italian schools serve lunches like this. But I could be wrong.

I don't know food that good I would go back to school there....

Hold up.  How does Gordon Ramsay cook for every school but us?

Quote:I have my doubts regarding both blogs that I initially posted.  One particular thing to note regarding the pictures, they don't show actual portion sizes with any kind of scale.  Is the photo that I posted a "big hearty meal" or a light meal?

 

One thing that I do know is that there is a difference between our "typical meal" and a "typical meal" from foreign countries.  Our portions tend to be so much bigger.

The first time I went out to eat while living in Germany I was surprised by the portion size. Definitely smaller than here but very good and satisfying. You didn't feel like you needed more than what was served.

I graduated in 2006. IIRC, the normal school cafeteria meal was about $1.45 and it may have went up since then. The normal cafeteria meal usually consisted of an entrée such as a slice of pizza, taco salad, a hamburger, or chicken nuggets as the picture showed, a side item such as french fries or a veggie, a fruit cup or fresh fruit item, and a carton of milk. I do remember they also had a separate line that sold "premium" lunches such as chicken wings and snack items and drinks for a dollar or two more. As you can guess the premium snack line was always full while the regular lunch line was pretty short.



On a side note, in some northern and western schools some used to have partnerships with companies such as McDonald's that would actually serve real MCDs food in the cafeteria although I think that has stopped since schools have placed a focus on serving more "nutritious" meals.