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by alistairSH 2721 days ago
In the US, it's the norm. When I was in elementary (primary in the UK) school, it was split about half between packed sandwiches (with a box of OJ and a small bag of chips or similar snack) and queuing up at the school's lunch counter for a hot meal (usually cheap, not great quality, and heavily subsidized for those students that qualified). I'm not sure when it started, but my guess would be the 1930s, in an effort to ensure every child had at least one full meal a day. And at least in my current region, the school now offers breakfast before school begins (though this is almost exclusively used by students who qualify for free lunches - I don't know any middle-class families that rely on the school breakfast).
2 comments
HeyLaughingBoy 2721 days ago
From what I know, the food quality and cost varies widely. Here (rural Minnesota, US) the elementary school lunch is about $2.50 (HS is about $3.75) for the kids who don't qualify for financial aid or free meals. Breakfast is also available at a similar cost.

I've never eaten it, but my kids generally enjoy the food and my wife, who's volunteered at the school often and eaten lunch there, says it's OK. They also offer an optional PM snack in elementary school at additional cost. Snack milk is free for everyone.

OTOH, I've heard of other school districts around the country where the food is total crap and only the poorest children who can't afford to have breakfast at home/bring a lunch will eat it.

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alistairSH 2721 days ago
Ours was hit or miss. The pizza was good, if you like a greasy thin slice (I do). Simple things like Mac & cheese were good too. The meatloaf was terrible. The hamburgers weren’t great - the patties were cheap meat (possibly with lots of filler) and the buns mediocre. My fav was the thanksgiving lunch - they did a pretty good turkey, stuffing, and gravy.

The real problem was vegetables - they were guaranteed to be over cooked and mushy.

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ghaff 2721 days ago
I don't know the entire history but as a federal program it started in 1946. [1] It's long been sort of a political hot button. As you say, the impetus was (and is) that children from poor or otherwise disadvantaged home environments got at least one full meal at lunchtime.

[1] https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-...

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