School lunch

Ever wondered what other schools serve for lunch?

United States

Here in Manhasset, we dine on pretty average meals, including pizza, pre-made sandwiches, wraps, salads, pastas, and other unexciting foods.

Boulder Valley School District, Boulder, Colorado—In Boulder Valley School District, many diverse and delicious lunches are served. For example, this school serves burgers and nachos with hormone and antibiotic-free beef and buns from Whole Foods, homemade lasagna from scratch, and unlimited salad.

Seattle Public Schools, Seattle, Washington—In Seattle Public Schools, a variety of pizzas and burgers, subs, hummus platters, chicken Caesar salads, fish tacos with salsa, enchiladas, Buffalo wings, and chicken teriyaki are among the regular meals served.

Berkeley Unified School District, Berkeley, California—Locally grown, fresh foods are cooked with the lunches in Berkeley Unified School District. This school serves burritos, enchiladas, nachos, quesadillas, and tacos, and no processed foods.

Ross School, the Hamptons, New York—Students eat locally grown crops, Brazilian fish, brick oven pizza, salmon, and zucchini in Ross School.

Central and South America

Honduras—Not every other school has better lunches than Manhasset. In Honduras, porridge is a regular, and often the only available meal.

Cuba—In Cuba, lunches are free, and students can eat a variety of foods, including rice, beans, vegetables, eggs, and dessert as a meal.

Argentina—Argentinian schools serve potatoes and empanadas, rice and chicken; lunches are as plain as Manhasset’s.

Europe

European school lunches epitomize the “dream” gourmet school lunch that we desire back in Manhasset.

France—School lunches in France are full and diverse, including clams, fruit, fries, bread, salads, and meals seasoned with fine herbs. Desserts are included in the school lunch; some examples are pie, cake, and tiramisu.

Sweden—Lunches are pretty plain in Sweden, including potatoes, cabbage, and beans.

Italy—Back in Italy, school lunch is taken seriously. There is a law mandating schools to use organic and locally grown products; school meals are clean, organic, and healthy. A typical course in a school in Italy would include pasta with a side salad.

England—The lunch in England is just like the lunch in the United States, including fries, burgers, pizzas, and sandwiches.

Asia

Most of the Asian schools have similar foods. Like in Europe, where the base meal includes bread or potatoes, the meals in Asia always include rice, fish, and vegetables.

Japan—Typical lunches consist of rice, fish, noodle soup, and tofu. Occasionally, Western cuisine is served, including spaghetti and meatballs, fries, and hot dogs.

South Korea—In South Korea, school lunches are free, and junk food ads aimed towards children are banned. People here are more inclined to eat healthy foods, and the school meals include rice, kimchi (spicy vegetables), fish, fried chicken, vegetables, seaweed, cabbage, soup, and tofu.

India—School lunch is not a big idea in India. Rather, lunches are brought from home, and there are even people to deliver food from home, called dabbawallas.

Thailand—Fried chicken with rice, egg noodle soup, boiled chicken on rice, and lemon grass soup with chicken are among the meals served in schools in Thailand.

Singapore—Bowls of salad are prepared to promote healthy eating, fruits are served, and homemade bread is baked in schools.

Indonesia—Students buy pancakes on the street for one cent.

Africa

Ghana—Rice is typically the only food served in school.

Kenya—Avocado only in some schools.

In each continent, we can identify a pattern of similar school lunches. In the United States, we eat American foods such as hot dogs, sandwiches, pizzas, and fries. In South America, rice, chicken, empanadas, and beans are typical. In Europe, locally grown crops are cooked into pastas and seasoned meals for delicious lunches in school. In Asia, rice, soup, tofu, fish, and vegetables are almost always available. In Africa, rice is plentiful. Seeing the similarities among continents, we can conclude that all students of all continents are probably disgruntled by their lunches and wish to have a taste of foreign cuisine. Lunch in Manhasset may seem appetizing to someone whose own school lunch looks delectable.