British Couple Reacts to What School Lunch Looks Like Around The World!

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British Couple Reacts to What School Lunch Looks Like Around The World!
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Original Video - • What School Lunch Look...
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Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

[@SRHS83]

You can't show one lunch from the US and say that's it. Different from city to city, state to state, etc. School districts vary too.

[@stoveboltlvr3798]

Absolutely. In Alabama they served Scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, gravy and biscuits, grits and things like that. Coming from northeast Ohio at 9 yrs. old we got cereal in school. Definitely changed by regions.

[@lovetodecorate7568]

Our school lunches were horrible. I hated those soy burger 🍔 🤮

[@Devila103]

@@lovetodecorate7568 The soy burgers were definitely horrible. We put so much ketchup on them to hide the taste.. but it didn’t work. I just have to think of them and know I will never be a vegetarian! 🤣

[@principalmcvicker6530]

@@lovetodecorate7568 ew, soy burgers?? I graduated in 2014 so maybe that came after. Gross.

[@lrees6412]

When I grew up my family was very poor I look forward to lunch no matter what they had that was the best meal of the day I was so grateful

[@reptilesrodents]

Being from America it would be hard to pick a standard meal. Because our food like the world is based on culture. And we have such a diverse community of people I truly think if you picked four prominent areas in the US they would have four different standard meals. That stuff is ran at the state level so it can vary greatly.

[@blackwolfdown]

100% my texas lunch in/around 2004 was tamales and enchiladas

[@bobbiscrittercave2348]

Millie is right - it's "grilled cheese" and "baked potato."

[@edwardmclaughlin8851]

True but my family called it toasted cheese.

[@rustincohle2135]

@@edwardmclaughlin8851 But it's wrong cuz the sandwich isn't technically toasted. It's grilled on a pan hence the name grilled cheese sandwich.

[@byronicman]

@@rustincohle2135 well, if we're gonna get all technical it is toasted, just on a pan.. grilled implies it's cooked on a grill.. like grilled chicken.

[@byronicman]

@@rustincohle2135 wow.. sorry to upset you that much with my comment. Hope you feel better now.

[@rustincohle2135]

@@byronicman ​ Ya know, if you're gonna make an attempt to be snippy by being "all technical", then perhaps you should research before opening your mouth so you don't look like a total dip shhhhh. "it is toasted, just on a pan" Bread is toasted using radiant heat ONLY (typically by heating coils) and without the use of browning agents like oil or butter. You don't butter up bread before sticking it in the toaster-- and also BOTH sides of the bread get toasted in the process. Bread on grilled cheese sandwiches however are slathered with either butter or mayonnaise which allows the Maillard browning process to occur (which does not occur while toasting), and only one side of each bread slice on a grilled cheese sandwich is browned while the other side remains soft-- hence it's NOT a toasted sandwich. And also grill does not just refer to outdoor charcoal grills. What, ya never heard of flattop grills used in diners and griddles (a type of grill) that people have in their homes? If one doesn't have a griddle, browning a sandwich with butter on a flat pan on a stove top is an EXACT replication of the griddle/flattop grilling process-- which again makes the sandwich grilled and NOT toasted. Hence why when onions are browned in oil on a pan, they're also called "grilled onions". But yea, you totally showed me by getting "all technical" with that brilliant well-researched retort ("it is toasted, just on a pan"). Man, what a wealth of knowledge you possess.

[@laurenkrist4119]

During my days in school in the US the food didn't look like the one you showed (and that definitely wasn't fancy). Ours were almost inedible. Pizza was always on Friday and similar to frozen Elios brand (also not great). But the lunches were super cheap and for some students they were free.

[@masterofpuppets2004]

the pizza in my school was actually very good. they even sold it at after school sporting events. its a big money maker for the teams. our steak subs were a popular item as well.

[@hannable3871]

I remember the pizza boat

[@janp719]

Still like that here. No sweets and very small servings.

[@MichelMcDonald]

I went to school in the 70's and 80's and the only lunch meals I can recall were square pizzas that had way too much grease on top and plain hamburgers.

[@barryfletcher7136]

When I attended public secondary schools in the USA (Alabama & Louisiana) school lunches were actually cooked by the cafeteria staff. They were served on reusable compartmented trays. The food was nutritious and filling but bland. Today, students are more likely to get meals served on disposable trays or in a bag. They are more likely to get portable foods like a sandwich or slice of pizza, fruit, vegetable such as carrot sticks, and a carbohydrate such as a pastry or brownie.

[@dibutler9151]

They still are, lol. A friend of mine manages a lunchroom in N Alabama and posts pics of the lunch of the day. This week they had fried chicken, meatloaf, chili, mashed potatoes and gravy, black eyed peas, greens with ham hock, etc.

[@barryfletcher7136]

@@dibutler9151 Thank you!

[@acrystalclearway1222]

You are correct. In the USA we call it a "grilled cheese" :) And "adult grilled cheese" can be found on many restaurant menus and feature bacon. :)

[@gwildordipkin6504]

Adult grilled cheese in Vegas comes with a 4 hour porn dvd.

[@sakurablossoms94]

@@gwildordipkin6504 Lmao

[@chadwickwhite1889]

Popular in the south would be a grilled pimento cheese with bacon. I prefer my grilled cheese with ham/turkey as well. Usually in a pan with plenty of butter.

[@sassygrammy1258]

In the south, pimento cheese is BIG. Typically, it is served cold, but one of the best sandwiches I have ever had is a grilled pimento cheese sandwich.

[@dstamour625]

@@chadwickwhite1889 I love it with bacon ham and tomato’s watching this vid I think I’m gonna make this for dinner but got to figure the soup out. I enjoy it with tomato soup or clam or corn chowder

[@deanneparis8888]

I worked in a public school cafeteria in Georgia for several years. We had five lines, each with different meals. We had fresh baked bread, fresh cookies, and also a pizza or chicken tender line. We rarely had soup and sandwiches.

[@tracitries9514]

I’m also in Georgia, we never had soup and sandwiches. We had a slice of pizza, served with corn, and a small side salad. I graduated in 82, so I’m sure it has changed some since then, but it was never all that!!

[@daleowen2606]

Grilled cheese dipped on tomato soup is my go to meal when I'm sick

[@kookiefrog1]

I live in the USA and my lunch NEVER looked like that when I was a kid. lol I wonder what school that is from

[@briankirchhoefer]

We had lunch trays like plastic prison trays at my school in the 70s and 80s in the US. We could bring a lunch or eat the school lunch. In High School we had those options too but also could opt for a square of cheese pizza. Water or milk (white or chocolate) were the drink options. My last year of High school they started open campus so we could get McDonald's or Dairy Queen.

[@rmorris2447]

Definitely a grilled cheese and baked potato for us in Arizona.

[@janew4609]

Try grating Parmesan cheese on the butter before grilling. (Not the packaged shredded cheese). Yum!

[@rmorris2447]

@@janew4609 muenster cheese and Cheddar is a good combo too for a grilled cheese.

[@janew4609]

@@rmorris2447 sounds good!

[@charmans133]

You guys know each other way too much and we LOVE it your so good together!

[@Gantzz321]

in Japan the kids don't MAKE the food, each classroom sends kids to retrieve the food for that class, they bring it back to the class and serve all the kids and the teacher. Just like after school kids are given the jobs of cleaning the classrooms top to bottom. When you make the kids clean up like this they tend not to make messes and clean up after themselves

[@wolfe6220]

That's kind of a let down, about the kids not making the food (even if it's at a level they can realistically achieve). I think that by the time kids are in high school, they should know how to cook. Maybe not 5 star meals, but definitely something nutritious. So many kids go off to college or get their first apartment and can't take care of themselves. Plus, it can get the kids used to real, healthy food, so they're less likely to want junk food all the time. I miss my mother's cooking. She was an awesome cook, but I didn't realize this until I saw what other kids thought passed for food. I wish I had thought to ask her for her recipes before she wasn't able to remember them (unfortunately, she developed early Alzheimer's), and she was the type of cook that didn't measure or anything, so she never wrote anything down. Re: the classroom cleaning. That's a good idea too. Kids should know the basics of cleaning, how to use basic tools around the house, change a tire, sew a button on, etc. I've seen college kids who didn't know how to use a vacuum or do laundry.

[@annabogart6689]

yes, grilled cheese sandwich, baked potato. also fish sticks instead of fish fingers

[@jacobtb1]

We used to get foods like spaghetti, chili, chicken n dumplings, turkey with mashed potatoes, sloppy joes, pb&j. With side like fruit cocktail, raisins, cornbread.

[@OMGitsaClaire]

In a lot of places in the US, more than half of students’ families make so little income that they qualify for free school lunch. In fact, in some schools or school districts, they just give free lunch to everyone, and often free hot breakfast too. When COVID hit, many schools in my hometown kept up with bag lunches that they would put onto the school busses and then deliver to the homes of students who got free lunch. In Alabama, especially poorer, more rural areas, families heavily rely on free school lunch to provide food for their kids. And I personally think school lunches should be free for every child. Also, I don’t know what other US school lunch was like but when I was a kid, it was way more than pizza and hamburgers. We got cheese pizza with a side of sweet corn and salad once a week and hamburgers were rare, like maybe once a month. Chicken nuggets were also more rare. More frequently it was things like ham, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies, baked chicken, rice, and steamed broccoli, or (kind of a weird combo) beef vegetable soup, a PB&J sandwich and an apple or orange. And desserts were things like jello with fruit in it, a fruit juice ice pop, or a fat free brownie. On rare occasions they’d have tiny ice cream containers served with a wooden popsicle stick to scoop out the ice cream. You got a piece of cake on your birthday every year, but that was the only time you got cake (a piece of yellow sponge with frosting and sprinkles given with a smile from one of the “lunch ladies”). And when I worked for a school, our kids ate pretty healthy. Although I hated fish sticks (fish finger) day because they served fish sticks shaped like sharks and I felt like the little kids played with them more than they ate them.

[@adriannecote5319]

Grilled cheese and ham on rye is a great adult sandwich. In the old days when mothers stayed home we would go home for lunch in grammar school. Baked potato…never got those when I was in school.

[@wolfe6220]

Personally, I loved pastrami on rye (I'm Jewish on my mother's side, so it kinda goes with the territory, lol). I never understood as a kid why other kids would eat tasteless bologna sandwiches on white Wonder bread. Plus, I'm half Greek on my father's side, so I had souvlaki, spanakopita, Greek style salads and baklava along with the New York style of Jewish food. When you eat that type of food, hamburgers and chicken nuggets are boring.

[@sakurablossoms94]

I had a salad bar and a smoothie bar and a Chick Fil A at my high school. I loved it!

[@zaywhite337]

At my middle school today I had “EXTRA CRISPY CRUNCHY DELICIOUS CHICKEN SANDWICH”. But it was more like almost liquid meat stale bread and the liquid chicken was covered in pancake batter lookin stuff it should be called “BITTER BITTEN LIQUID CHICKEN” -Florida

[@SherriLyle80s]

Weird seeing the US has varied lunch food state to state, but they only mentioned Hawaii as a separate "country" 😂

[@PrincessGoldenFrog]

When I was in middle school (6th-8th grade), I remember the few times I got food from the school it was a plain chicken sandwich (which was nasty and some actually found plastic in it... after that we avoided those) or a piece of pizza with so much oil and grease on it that we would soak it up with many many napkins... I don't recall any sides and usually the drink was milk that was barely cold. Let's just say I was happy to bring food from home or buy a bag of chips or cookies from the vending machine and sharing it with my best friend... none of it was healthy.

[@quantumleaper]

I still remember getting my lunches, grade 1-6 it was good food, grade 7-8, the food was ok, and in High School (9-12) the smart kids went to McDonald's about a block away.

[@themourningstar338]

Same here. I grew up in the 80's and 90's (class of 2000). My elementary had a bunch of old grandmas that ran the kitchen, so the food was pretty damn good. Middle school the quality went way down, and in high school the hot lunch was nasty. The only edible thing in HS was every other Friday they had a taco salad bar that was decent. Most kids went down the road a few blocks to McDonald's or the little grocery store deli for chicken strips/burritos.

[@littleloneprepper4820]

Cheese toast=1 slice of bread with cheese toasted in oven, toasted cheese =2 slices of bread with cheese between toasted in oven, grilled cheese =2 slices of bread (outside buttered) with cheese between grilled in pan on stovetop.

[@cp368productions2]

Not every lunch is that, the lunch changes day to day in the US. And the food generally would give you prison vibes.

[@deonneparrish9850]

In California we had a variety not just grilled cheese sandwiches. There was a set menu each week so you could either buy your lunch or bring it from if you didn't like what they were having that day. We would get a new menu for each month so you knew ahead of time what was going to be served. Grilled cheese or fish were served usually for those who didn't eat meat on Fridays. The main dish was hot dogs, tacos, spaghetti, etc. with vegetables, fruit, milk or juice and a dessert of some kind. If I remember right we usually had two options to choose from every day. We had sectioned plastic trays.

[@eMemoryCard]

My public high school in Florida, US, had Chick-Fil-A, Pizza Hut, and Subway options brought daily, but not there full menus, along with a daily school lunch, many other snack and side items. It was all up to choices, money, and if it was a free school lunch. Many options

[@Harrison244]

Yeah in North Carolina we usually had grilled cheese, burgers, pizza, or salad. Close to holidays like thanksgiving or Christmas we’d sometimes have nicer food at least at my school

[@dbqdude75ify]

Do we really need to say Millie is right....😆 🤣 😂 😹 😆 🤣 😂

[@jeffburdick869]

7:00 yup. Definitely called a grilled cheese here in the US. And is basically a staple comfort food. Add in a side of tomato soup and its like I'm a kid again.

[@Jeeperskip]

In 1966 I was in the 6th grade at a little school in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. The lunch ladies were all fantastic cooks and made many memorable meals. To this day I remember "chili day". The dark red beans had soaked overnight and the following day were slow cooked with ground beef, onion, spices and crushed tomatoes. It was started at 8 A.M. and the smells wafted through the corridors. It was served alongside a salad (hand cut mind you, not bagged) of lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes with a tangy, chilled dressing that we call Catalina. The best part however was the cornbread. OMG. I still love to make cornbread with chili just as the lunch ladies did. They magically whipped together fresh butter and honey and plopped a big scoop on the hot cornbread just as you were leaving the line. A 3"x3" square of freshly baked brownie finished off the meal. It cost the grand sum of 25 cents for the entire meal. There were no free lunches back then but some kids would "volunteer" to do some menial kitchen work in exchange for food. Every kid knew how to sweep or mop in those days but if a family was really hard up they could ask the ladies for a credit ticket. They never said no and the tickets often got "lost" and never were the kids or parents dunned for payment. It was a small town of 300 people and everyone knew everyone else's circumstances. There was real generosity in those lunch ladies.

[@wolfe6220]

That food sounds delicious! We had similar food at our high school. I was lucky enough to live next door to one of the lunch ladies from high school. She would always make the best chocolate cake in a sheet pan and then give the extras to the neighbor kids. She was so used to making "school sized" meals that she made them that way at home too and always had leftovers.

[@MrJonnydanger]

"it reminds me of prison" -- "its good for children" lol

[@MichaelScheele]

The school lunch menus vary by state and individual school district. I don't know what would be considered "typical" as it varies widely.

[@ddwro1]

in wv when my generation was in grade school we would help out in the kitchens too. in high school we would go home for lunch or to our local store.. kids only get 15 minutes here to rat their lunch. we call them grilled cheese sandwiches we fry them in a skillet. we call them jacket potatoes if they were boiled with peel on but baked potatoes if we baked them. my sister loved the patte sandwhichs

[@PaulSmith-ep5lj]

I went to school in the 80's and early 90's, we called the hamburger patty the APP (All Purpose Patty) because one day it would be Hamburger the next day Salisbury Steak.

[@eandg330]

The good ole all purpose mystery meat! Lol

[@Prettypeachylife]

I’ve worked in a variety of schools in a number of states in the US. I’ve seen unhealthy meals like pizza for breakfast or a sugary breakfast cereal bar. Lunches are a bit better but also vary. I’ve seen very nice salad bars with a protein, vegetable and dessert but also seen hotdogs, hamburgers (think ultra thin patty), tacos, and other fast food type items without the taste. They do seem to be getting healthier.

[@scottdean2199]

That is NOT what I saw in schools in Hawai`i in the 80s. Food was from the USDA Food Surplus program, though each school cooked it themselves. The food was not great, but was super cheap. We paid $0.45 - $0.25 of which was for the 1 cup carton of milk. The price went up to $1.25 in the early 90s. This was still super cheap, as a McDonald's meal cost about $5 at the time. If the student was from a low-income family, they could qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Elementary and Middle schools (Kindergarten through 8th grade) also provided breakfast. Each lunch meal included milk, a vegetable, a starch, and a protein. An example would be meatloaf, corn, and a bun. The food was extremely bland, and the pizza was infamous for being rubbery and tasteless. "Plastic food" was an apt description.

[@donnamauriello8444]

Yes, in the US, we call it grilled cheese, it’s usually done in a fry pan, both sides of bread are buttered!!!! There’s different variations of it too, you can add ham or bacon or tomato slices!!!! It’s a favorite here in our house when served with tomato soup for lunch or dinner!

[@DaddyDoggAbbott]

I'm calling shenanigans on the person that made this video

[@larrychrisman9288]

Agreed. Some of these look more like gourmet meals than school meal lunches.

[@renee176]

We do have grilled cheese sandwiches (and sometimes we add meat to them also), but you can make them in a frying pan on top of the stove.

[@BIGJOHN866]

I remember elementary school lunch as having pizza, cheeseburger, nacho, chicken, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, I do remember grilled cheese sandwiches with & without tomatoes soup. There were days for lunch we had cold lunch peanut butter jelly bar & sandwiches turkey,& bologna & cheese turkey sandwich was the best to me every time I ate a bologna & cheese sandwich at school its like I'm eating a ice sandwich that sandwich always had ice on the meat.

[@SilvanaDil]

Grilled cheese as the main? Yeah, maybe 1 out of every 10 days. We rotated through that, turkey sandwiches, spaghetti, sloppy joes, fried chicken, pizza....

[@GreatestFriends18]

I’m from the US and my school lunches NEVER looked like that when I was in elementary school, during the 90s. I’m actually a little jealous of the food that was in the video. It made me hungry.

[@marcuscook5145]

My school in TX served us frozen chicken nuggets and/or steak fingers with instant mashed potatoes, white gravy and green beans.

[@RickSatan]

It is so sadistic that they are feeding children murdered animal body parts

[@garyevans3421]

In the US, lunches are regional. In East Texas where I went from Kindergarten through 7th grade, once a week, we had a hardy soup or stew that was accompanied by a peanut butter and syrup sandwich that was made thickly, so it wouldn’t drip and make a mess. The combo wasn’t bad at all! I remember when my dad came to eat with us on a parent day invitation. They had turkey and dressing. I remember him saying “y’all are eating good!” My friends and I tried to convince him that they were showing off and the lunches weren’t that good every day!

[@pghrpg4065]

I went home for lunch through eighth grade (1980s in the U.S.). PB&J or bologna sandwiches were most common. Bologna is sometimes called jumbo in the Pittsburgh area. I really liked it when my dad toasted the bread. I also had grilled cheese (which my grandmother called toasted cheese).

[@terriehumphries6028]

Yes we call it a Baked potatoes. We have a very diverse lunch menu and kids pack a lunch sometimes if they don't like what is on the menu.

[@David_C_83]

I remember school lunches here in Canada back in the late 80s, early 90s, the weekly menu was pretty decent and the Friday was always the best day, where we could get a pizza slice or a burger but most days it was a more of a traditional meal, like a meat pie or meatloaf with a side of steamed veggies and a small desert like jello or a small slice of chocolate cake. Parents could either pay for the whole week or month and the kid would get a green coupon to exchange at lunch time for a full meal or a child could have the money and pay on the actual day in case you only wanted that particular day's meal, I would sometimes go for that pizza even if most of the time I'd have my own packed lunch. I also remember the school having yellow coupons which were for only the main dish without the side or desert, they were mostly used for lower income families and sometimes were handed out for free when the direction would notice a kid going to the cafeteria without any food at all.

[@Steve-mg8tc]

In the US we have many options for lunch and it’s free along with free breakfast.

[@subterraneanretrogames556]

Grilled cheese is best made in a frying pan. You cannot get the right amount of buttery crispness on the bread using a George Foreman.

[@rjscott3939]

my elementary school and middle school lunch was notoriously bad. It got so much better in high school. They had a sandwich station where you could get a sandwich that was either ham and cheese, chicken salad, turkey and cheese or tuna and then another station where you could get burgers and hot dogs.

[@JoeKier7]

In my small school district, we got lucky with good food (not fancy but good) due to the cooks being moms and grandmas of the kids. Grilled cheese sandwich, baked potato Lots of good looking food in that video!!

[@Krissoard]

That is definitely not the average school lunch in USA! The prison meal video you posted is more like it.

[@ChrissaTodd]

yeah it's called grilled cheese because you basically "grill" it even if made on the oven i am canadian but still

[@poohbearsmom2964]

An industrial flat top cooking surface used to cook multiple items is called a grill. Often seen in diners. I think that’s the origin of grilled cheese sandwiches.

[@ChrissaTodd]

@@poohbearsmom2964 oh okay good to know

[@briankirchhoefer]

Yeah we used a skillet back in the day to make grilled cheese aka toasted cheese sandwich.

[@reptilesrodents]

Yeah usually pan fried with butter on the bread but we do call it grilled cheese.

[@Daelda]

When I make a grilled cheese sandwich, I like to add some sliced onion, and/or maybe some spinach. Makes it (slightly) healthier and also a bit more substantial.

[@Nicole-hc7rh]

This was not the average public school elementary school student had in the U.S.

[@edwardbietsch993]

Grilled cheese is made on a grill, pan or skillet, toasted cheese is made in some kind of oven. And they taste totally different even in their most basic form.

[@kimtilton2816]

US Florida here.. If you got a grilled cheese it would be cold. The lunches for our children is mostly processed foods, sprinkle in a apple or orange. Pizza is always a Friday thing but it looks more like a cracker pastry with processed cheese. I must add that the school lunches are fairly cheap. Roughly about $2. 25 . Free lunches go to kids that the parents are struggling. Lunch period usually last about 40 - 50 mins which gives the kids about 15-25 minutes to eat after waiting in line. Kindergarden -8th grade.

[@marydavis5234]

the Jacket potato would be our version of a loaded potato that has onions, bacon bites , melted butter and sour cream

[@briankirchhoefer]

Heinz beans are what we call pork and beans in the US. Baked beans are darker because they usually have brown sugar or molasses added. At least here in America.

[@pacmanc8103]

But without the pork.

[@briankirchhoefer]

@@pacmanc8103 the tiny little cube of pork fat in a can of pork and beans is very hard to find to be honest.

[@pacmanc8103]

@@briankirchhoeferThere is pork and pork fat in pork ‘n beans. There isn’t in Heinz beans - they’re vegetarian.

[@briankirchhoefer]

@@pacmanc8103 yes but the pork in it is such a tiny amount. Its not chuncks in it. Usually one piece.

[@pacmanc8103]

@@briankirchhoefer That’s very true. Many people don’t eat pork, however, for religious and dietary reasons.

[@brandyanderson3522]

While not the best I've ever had, my school lunch was pretty good. And I'm a picky eater. That's where I fell in love with Honey-glazed cornbread. It would rotate through the week. So, I might have fried chicken w/sweet potatoes and cornbread (Mon), tacos (Tue), grilled cheese (Wed), lasagna (Thur), and pizza (FrI). And the next week, it'd be spaghetti, burgers, subs and sandwiches, and meatloaf w/mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets. Every once in a while, we would get breakfast for lunch day and have pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage and eggs.

[@janew4609]

Our school lunches were very different when I was growing up in the south. Perhaps it depends on your generation and the schools, too. We had actual cooks in the school kitchens who made very good food right there that we really liked. No complaints here. And we never had grilled cheese, although wouldn’t have minded if we had!

[@TheOUboy]

Put Strawberries and Whip cream on your Sponge/Angel Food cake to make a strawberry shortcake. Food at my school was horrible so I would either bring a lunch or get a permission note from my parents and walk across the street to a little fast food shop to eat. Once we hit High School we had an open campus so we would just drive somewhere for lunch in town.

[@kennethswartz8252]

I lived in rural Kentucky and my high school only had a little over 1,200 students but lunch was decent. We had different choices each day with multiple different lines. You could go for the basic chicken patty or burger option with fries. There was a section with like roast beef or Salisbury steak and vegetables. There was a salad section which I usually went to. There was Spaghetti or lasagna section with garlic bread or bread sticks. Pizza section. Asian which usually was chicken and rice, sometimes sweet and sour. Etc. Taco or burrito section. They even brought in a shitload of Arby's roast beef sandwiches. However, when I turned 18 senior year, I would just sign out of school and grab something from a fast food place and come back.

[@redjeeper943]

Think you have to remember this is a chef in a kitchen making what the kids are being served it probably does not actually look like that. They just found out what is being served and reproduced it in a kitchen. So you cannot take the visual as being very accurate.

[@ravenm6443]

At my school in the US, our lunches were similar to that. We’d get grilled cheese and tomato soup with some veggie or fruit cocktail and a small carton of milk. We’d also get nuggets on rare occasions, gross quesadillas (my schools was gross, I actually like quesadillas otherwise), chef salad, spaghetti, pizza, and gross hot dishes. If we didn’t want to eat hot lunch, we had a small salad bar or peanut butter and cheap jam with bread to make a PB&J if we so chose. After I graduated, school food regulations changed. It was in an effort to make school lunches nation wide healthier with better portion sizes. Ultimately I believe they reduced the caloric amount. Problem is, most schools followed the regulation but didn’t change what they were making. It resulted in kids getting things like 4 nuggets, 5 thin apple slices, a couple pieces of broccoli and a 1% milk. It’s just not enough for kids who are running around for PE and recess and for them to stay present in class. I’d argue caloric intake is important but not as important as a well balanced meal that’s not full of high processed crap. It’s interesting that school can teach nutrition yet doesn’t even follow nutritional guides and instead opt for processed crap. It’s not bad if they did it once in a while, but it’s every day in many schools. A good thing that came out of it are more schools starting their own greenhouses and gardens and incorporating them into lunch and education. This is actually something I wish I had the opportunity to learn in school. I definitely don’t have a green thumb 😖

[@LumberjackMC]

I remember when I was in 3rd grade I switched schools and I went from always having a packed lunch to eating school lunch everyday and tbh, it was shit. The only thing that was good was Bosco Sticks that are basically a bread stick filled with mozzarella cheese. Then in middle school I never really ate school lunch it was always too expensive. Then in high school every single day of high school I legit stole school lunch, I was an athlete with barely any money so I was always hungry and if I go to practice after school with no food from lunch I'll most likely pass out, like I'm not paying $10 a day for school lunch when I barely have $50 in my pocket. In my high school we had 5 lunch lines. A salad line, a miscellaneous line, a pizza line, a hot sandwich line, and another miscellaneous line that on Thursdays made nachos that were straight fire. What I would do is grab a salad from the salad line, tell the lunch lady I'm paying in the sandwich line, go to the sandwich line and take 2 spicy chicken sandwiches and tell the lunch lady in that line I'm going to the salad line then go out ranch on my salad and honey mustard on my chicken sandwiches and go sit down. Never got caught or if I did they didn't care.

[@TheGLORY13]

In my school near pittsburgh. We had options of chicken sandwiches (perfectly round mind you but amazing) burgers Milk/Iced Tea a side. There was a different lunch menu every day though and we had meal plans basically so 1 of each was allowed "for free" but anything extra we paid out of pocket. So 2 sandwiches and a gatorade. I'd pay for 1 of those sandwiches and the gatorade, although most of the time we just grabbed one from the vending machine or were walking around with the Gatorade Water bottles filled stuff.

[@disgustedvet9528]

Back in the early 50s and 60s after going by bus to rural schools grades 1-3 where a lunch box from home was needed then we moved to the city and we went home for lunch and then back to school . Then in H.S. it was easier to go to cafeteria in school although some kids brown bagged it . i remember the cafeteria food was edible and somewhat varied day to day but always fish on Friday . Never went hungry.

[@Casey28027]

Grilled cheese and we also have grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.

[@nicolebarnett8702]

Grilled cheese. Made in a frying pan. It's good with ham on it too. My mom used to make me grilled peanut butter

[@george217]

I went to High School on a USAF Base overseas. It was so small we ate lunch in the mess hall...

[@LexyThomas134]

I loved school lunches in SW Pennsylvania, we always had good food. Especially the Pizza burgers with a side of cheesy fry's haha And everyone i know says Grilled Cheese and Baked Potato

[@PhilOWH]

It’s weird they show all these Amazing meals….even USA had an amazing meal. All my meals growing up were more like prison meals…not gonna lie…

[@justindye9443]

Something to try on your next grilled cheese, jelly or jam on top! Whatever your favorite flavor is. Worth it! Also, school lunches vary by the area it seems. Or by type of school. Some aren't terrible, others are pretty ghastly

[@chica9781]

The schools in Colorado could bring lunch, go home for lunch, school lunch or choose a fast food kiosk in the cafeteria.

[@eggman989]

I went to primary school for six years in rural SE TN and the school lunches were awful, cheap mac n cheese , god awful meatloaf, powdered mashed potatoes… think surplus army rations. Barely edible, mildly nutritious, very affordable. My parents gave me $5 a week to buy my meals and I pocketed 2.25. This was in 1970 - 75 😎

[@southernhippie9058]

The county my school was in got caught serving school children food rejected by the prison system and the teachers made children eat everything on their plate. That was a thing in the early 1960s

[@sharir1679]

I grew up calling it toasted cheese which is what my mom called it however her family were from England originally so the term probably just stuck with them.

[@jacquesmassard9226]

We generally call it a grilled cheese or grill cheese sandwich. Also yeah in the USA you might get pizza or pasta or burritos, or etc... too but nothing too fancy. Also always milke chocolate or just 2% but always every school has milk.

[@nolanfarrell1767]

Our meals were the same from elementary through high school

[@billybodacious2337]

In San Antonio we got food in plastic prison trays in elementary and middle school, then plastic plates in high school. Everybody looked forward to enchilada day. That was thr eighties and nineties. Not sure what they serve now.

[@theunovanative7640]

here in California, its cheap. always. mostly stuff in plastic wrapping

[@clpjones1964]

USA born and raised....I'm from Connecticut, my husband is from Maine. I've always called it "grilled cheese", while my husband calls it "toasted cheese". Until my husband, I never heard it called anything but "grilled cheese" - even in restaurants.

[@GeneBateman1970]

we never got that lunch when i was in school (USA) it was cardboard pizza, milk and that about it

[@allisonh1408]

In the South US, it was common to have lemon pepper chicken or chicken spaghetti with mashed potatoes, a veggie, and a small dessert. I think I liked Japan's and Hawaii's meals the best!

[@scottthomas6202]

I went to school in the '70s...school lunch was served on heavy reusable trays with compartments. Most of it was greasy and bland. The thing I remember was the square " tire patch" pizzas and chicken fried steak patties that had something that looked like pus inside..

[@gretchenmyers1279]

we get quite facy here in the US with grilled cheese. my favorite is from a local bar. It has grilled ham, bacon, and a fried egg in it. that plus a cup of their tomato bisque is absolutely to die for!

[@twenty1thirteen]

That’s a melt, not a grilled cheese. Anything other than straight up cheese is undebatably considered a melt.

[@pacmanc8103]

Huh? Never heard of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich?

[@gretchenmyers1279]

@@pacmanc8103 oh i'm sorry! the bar buys their ham and bacon from a local butcher, so the quality is quite high. they grill both ham and bacon before making and grilling the sandwich. add in the fried egg, and voila! heaven on a plate

[@pacmanc8103]

@@gretchenmyers1279 I was actually responding to the other poster who said anything other than cheese was a ‘melt’. Your local bar’s sandwich sounds great!

[@gretchenmyers1279]

@@twenty1thirteen huh...i've had things added to a grilled cheese for almot 60 years, and nobody ever called it anything but grilled cheese and -----whatever was added. I grew up in OH, but have been to every corner of the US, and never heard different either. The only melts when I was younger were tuna, and patty. The first time I saw a grilled cheese with extras called a melt was maybe 6 years ago when I went to a restaurant called meltz (sp?). How long have you known them as melts? where are you from? I'm a bit of a food geek in some ways, and I love learning more

[@nickdevriese]

I must say I had to track down many stores to find Heinz beans here in America. No offense, it’s just beans in tomato sauce. It needed doctored. Still good though.

[@marydavis5234]

Aldi's has Jaffa cakes, every once in awhile, I bought the strawberry ones, I ate 1/2 the box in under 5 minutes, the next day, I went to eat the rest of the box, my brother and Stepdad had eaten the rest of the box and one of them put the box back in the kitchen cabinet, Aldis have not had them since.

[@johnmassey55]

Listen to the American Millie ! She knows her stuff ! Thanks for the video !

[@matthewmariano981]

Most of the big school in Texas have fast food joint inside them and a regulars lunch lines

[@joannhunter1034]

School lunches vary from day to day and area in the country. A grilled cheese and soup are just 1 option of many. A very common and popular entree is chicken nuggets. All kids love them and eat them in ketchup. no brainer !

[@Sister_Felinity_Imaculata]

No, parents didn't typically leave work and go home to meet their children for lunch. Lol! Most homes were one-income, usually dad, and mom stayed home. So, a parent was already home, preparing the midday meal. Kids typically walked home and back to school for lunch. Lunchtime was a lot longer than what it is today, too. In Texas, public school kids get 30 minute lunch periods, so there's no longer enough time to go home, eat, and get back on time.

[@ronmccluskey2140]

you could take the cheese off the pizza and use it as a frisbee lol, I wish my lunch looked like that :)

[@-JA-]

Excellent as always.

[@catherinefarrell6238]

We definitely don't do Heinz beans, even though its an American company, my family prefers Bush's beans. I will send you some when your postal box is ready.

[@robertsterner2145]

After you shouted out Marcus Rashford, I had to look him up. Very, very impressive that he's using his platform the way he has and accomplished so much good at such a young age.

[@dtwolfe63]

You guys DO realize that Heinz is an American company, don't you? Founded by Henry J. Heinz, the company is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. So we are very familiar with Heinz here in the States and yes, we can get the UK style beans here as well.

[@roseannepryor4068]

In USA, It’s called grilled cheese. Always served with Tomato Soup. Yum 😊