School Lunches

[Jdeere562]

When I started school was the early 1960's. We lived on the next block, so I went home for lunch until maybe 2nd or 3rd grade. Had no idea how it worked, so just followed the others in line the first time.

Back then they had real cooks and made everything from scratch. It was probably better than what my Mom fed me at home for lunch. So I continued eating at school. Those ladies got there early AM and started cooking. Homemade pizza cut in squares, I always went back for seconds. We never made pizza at home. Chili, turkey, sea dogs, meatloaf and all the other stuff was cooked in the school kitchen. Milk came in glass bottles. Couple of the cooks belonged to our local church. Every few years, the church would make a cook book from the local recipes. I still have one dated 1970. Those cooks always shared recipes from themselves and other local people. Still my favorite cook book.

My Grandma was the main church organist and taught me how to play as a kid. I would fill in, if she could not attend. They gave us free cookbooks for pay...LOL!

I would never complain about our school food, it was good! My Granddaughter graduated last year. Said the school food was junk, just heat up frozen processed food. She took a cooler most days with her own lunch, said it was too nasty to eat.

Any other old timers remember good school lunches?

 

[GON]

JD, thanks for sharing. My school lunches were no where near the level you enjoyed. Great read, I am sure your posts will refresh many memories.

 

[Passport1]

I remember. You brought your lunch, went home for lunch or went hungry.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

In the 80s school food was pretty bad.

 

[GON]

 

[chemman]

Please don't remind of the school lunch program I endured in grade and high school. In grade school, the kitchen ladies made things from scratch, but less than half was palatable. Most of the kids left about one-third of what they gave us (I won't even call it food) on the tray it it went into the trash. Hence I brown bagged it virtually 100% of the time.

In high school (a private school) they stopped the hot lunch program which had been really good, and brought in a vending machine company that served the worst hot & cold sandwiches. About the only things that were edible were the canned soup and the small bags of chips. Again, I tried to brown bag it as often as possible.

You were quite lucky and I completely understand what your granddaughter is going through.

 

[rekit]

I remember in maybe 2nd or 3rd? grade I was curious about the milk in the green cartons..........only took me one sniff.

 

[Owen Lucas]

I have no idea why my elementary school served sloppy joes, worst idea ever.

 

[Inked]

I went to Catholic school in the 60’s and 70’s. The only thing nastier than the lunches were the nuns.

 

[dbias]

I started first grade in 1970. Our school lunch program was very good. As the op mentioned it was all scratch made especially the pizza, chicken and dumplings and lasagna.
One of the cooks made a fortune selling cloverleaf rolls for thanksgiving and Christmas. I have never found rolls quite like what she made.

 

[cptbarkey]

2 out of my 3 teens prefer to bring their lunch, our Texas public system food stinks.

 

[skyactiv]

My dad was an attorney and had his own practice. Despite making over a million dollars one year, he cleared his caseload, took a long sabbatical, took advantage of the system and my siblings and I got reduced school lunches.

 

[GON]

I went to Catholic school in the 60’s and 70’s. The only thing nastier than the lunches were the nuns.

Sorry that was the experience. I suspect you may have had a more productive and disciplined adult life from your time in those school in the 1960s/1970s.

My Wife was so grateful she was a girl in Catholic school, as she stated the nuns beat the daylights out of misbehaving boys.

Our home has so many rules set by my lovely wife. I always suggested to our now adult children the rules came from the Catholic schoolgirl handbook.

 

[Quattro Pete]

My Granddaughter graduated last year. Said the school food was junk, just heat up frozen processed food. She took a cooler most days with her own lunch, said it was too nasty to eat.

Growing up, I was very fortunate to have both grandma and mother around that were fantastic cooks, so school lunches did not compare, but they were still way more nutritious than what kids get fed in school today. I cringe every time I look at the menu, but my kid thinks bringing lunch from home is uncool.

 

[Inked]

Sorry that was the experience. I suspect you may have had a more productive and disciplined adult life from your time in those school is in the 1960s/1970s.

My Wife was so grateful she was a girl in Catholic school, as she stated the nuns beat the daylights out of misbehaving boys.

Our home has so many rules, I always suggested to our now adult children the rules came from the Catholic schoolgirl handbook.

You’re right about the disciplined adult life. Military life came very easy to me.

 

[grisby]

When my son and daughter went into the military(Navy) in the 90's they were given the "blue card" aka military stress card!! I remember my kids telling me that they handed them back to the RDC and told them that the card was not needed because 1. You don't know my Dad and 2. They went to Catholic school. They went in at different times of course and the one said the RDC laughed his butt off and told the other recruits that they should be so lucky.

They told me that story and I laughed my butt off!!!

 

[Passport1]

The only thing nastier than the lunches were the nuns.

I had a couple years schooling by a few misanthropic ladies. They did however intstill a reverence for authority. Still today I look at a wooden ruler as device equally capable of measurment or punishment. Ditto about military life.

123RF

 

[Jdeere562]

I graduated in 1974. The school lunch was normally OK. but not quite as good as grade school. At age of 16, had my own car and sometimes we would drive to a local cafe for cheeseburgers and fries, if we did not care for the lunch being served. I do think they still cooked maidrites and stuff from scratch, those were always good. Scratch pizza was still a big home run.

Granddaughter said school still had a salad bar. If it was any good, I have no idea, but I could eat a good one for lunch every day.

Worst food was in the recent hospital and nursing home stays recently. Hospital had food from a delivery service and brought you the days menu to choose from. Nursing home was a little better, but not by much. Daughter brought me food sometimes, that was much better. Only time I ever asked for seconds, was some kind of hash brown casserole. That stuff was good and I told the cook that, so she gave me a big bowl extra.

Best meal at the nursing home came from an old woman in hospice. We kinda got to be friends. She was local and from a farm community. Her family still had gardens. The Son would bring in fresh sweet corn, tomatoes and cucumbers as a treat for us all. She said to get bacon on her for BLT's if the nursing home would not provide that! We got the meal and it was great!

The Son also brought in hamburgers from the farm and grilled for us one day. Good old country folks!

 

[Wrenchturner44]

Wow you brought back a flood of memories with this thread.

My elementary scholl lunches cost .35. We had the square pizza as described earlier, footlong hot dogs, and hamburgers.....and occassionally sloppy joes. We also had chipped beef on toast, and I liked it even though it was salty. Fridays we usually had some kind of square fish patties, and or grilled cheeze. For sides we had tator tots, fries, peas and carrots, and sometimes creamed corn. We had real silverware, and it was all served on Melmac tray that looked like the one in the link below. Milk was .03 for a half pint and was availble for those whom brought their lunches. Highschool lunches cost 1.00 and had similar food as we had in elementary school. You could also get Landshire sandwiches of several varieties.

Set of 3 Mint Green Dallas Ware Melamine Melmac Lunch Trays - Etsy

This Trays item by TheSpeckledEgg2011 has 3 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Spokane, WA. Listed on Aug 20, 2023

www.etsy.com

 

[benjy]

modern foods as a whole are poor compared to the old days!! carried a lunch to school but living with my granny + aunt after mom passed i got great home cooked meals + goodies BUT being so good i over ate + was 178# at 12 YO but girls + poor navy slop got me trimmed down! todays foods are quite altered aka GMO etc, its rare o get a good tomato unless its home grown + plants + meats are altered for long life + $$$$ with processed food being even worse!!!!