School Lunches Around The World

Did you know that on a typical day, 32 million children in the U.S. eat cafeteria food? Or that most of these students consume over half of their daily calories at school?

Recently there has been discussion about what constitutes a quality lunch, so we took a look at some typical school meals around the world, and how our own country stacks up.

Italy

Local fish on a bed of arugula, pasta with tomato sauce, caprese salad, baguette and some grapes

Finland

Pea soup, beet salad, carrot salad, bread and pannakkau       (dessert pancake) with fresh berries 

France

Steak, carrots, green beans, cheese and fresh fruit

Brazil

Pork with mixed veggies, black beans and rice, salad, bread and baked plantains

South Korea

Fish soup, tofu over rice, kimchi and fresh veggies

Greece

Baked chicken over orzo, stuffed grape leaves, tomato and cucumber salad, fresh oranges, and greek yogurt with pomegranate seeds

Ukraine

Mashed potatoes with sausage, borscht, cabbage and syrniki (a dessert pancake)

Spain

Sautéed shrimp over brown rice and vegetables, gazpacho, fresh peppers, bread and an orange

USA

Hot dog, no bun, apple, 1 cherry tomato, catsup, milk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been in many lunchrooms, setting up for school shows, and not only are many of the meals skimpy, but even then much of it ends up in trash barrels because it is unappetizing.

A funny video by students expressing how they feel about the new Obama lunches.

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