Essays Contents
School Lunches
April 10, 2024
It has been quite some time since I ate at a school cafeteria.
I do have fond memories, however, of the smell of fresh bread
baking... and savory meats browning and roasting... and having the
simple pleasure of anticipating a good hot lunch as I worked
math problems... and studied history.
But, many days... I ate from a metal lunch box... or a paper bag...
like many of my fellow elementary school companions. In those days...
by the time we got to lunch... the classroom was beginning to smell like
warming baloney and cheese sandwiches... sometimes tuna salad.
Our food was room temperature and the milk in our thermoses... was
not quite still... refrigerator cold. We all survived nevertheless.
As an adult, I began hearing stories about kids that were too poor
to eat lunch... families on welfare... especially black kids.
Government money was needed... (creating another black hole
for unaccounted-for... MONEY... I wondered).
Then I'd hear about how awful school cafeteria food was... and that
it was unappealing to kids... and that lunch menus needed to adapt
to the narrow appetites of kids... who were used to junk food.
(And everybody knew how the cool kids hated school
anyway).
There seemed to be a problem offering foods that were appetizing and
familiar to kids of all ages... that would also be practical for the
cafeteria staff to produce in a timely way. Over time... cooking
itself was a novelty for any available kitchen workforce.
As the culture changed... and families became fatherless... or as
both parents had to work... or chose to work... preparing
wholesome meals of any kind... breakfast, lunch, or dinner...
slowly took a less important place in our lives. We didn't have time
to prepare wholesome rounded meals for our families.
Processed food and "fast food" was the answer... for many homes...
and for many school cafeterias. What was easy was pizza...
hot dogs... chicken nuggets... cheese nachos... a side of limp green
beans... limp lettuce... or overcooked broccoli... a container of applesauce...
and ketchup.
I had heard stories... about school food... but it didn't become really
real until one day... I saw it for myself. I was in an elementary school for
one reason or another... at lunch time... and... took a little walk down
towards the cafeteria... just out of curiosity.
It was all true.
The entire school system had contracted with an outside company... to
provide for the staff and the students... the entire food offerings
for breakfast and lunch. (Imagine the overhead costs).
So... did this... solve the problem...?
I am not a fan of cheese myself. I eat it and enjoy it, but I don't
count it as a major source of nutrition. Cheese is familiar
with kids... a safe choice... and the day I walked into the cafeteria
everybody got a choice of cheese... three ways... pizza... nachos... and
macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. There was a "self-serve" salad
cart... with oranges... apples... and... a nearly empty and very likely
over-warm vegetable medley of tomatoes and... who knows what
it was... with Italian dressing. Kids were eating it... and staff were
not refilling it... or maybe it was just the timing of my visit.
Kids can't eat something that is empty... can they...
Long ago, I had an idea for a cookbook... not on school lunches
so much as... just finding interesting recipes with uses for spices and
herbs. I enjoyed my time going through magazines and cookbooks...
searching for appealing recipes to try.
And so it happens occasionally... that I am prompted to resolve the
school lunch problem myself... in consideration of the costs involved
in offering a nutritious lunch in a school venue... that might offer
something better than ketchup or cheese as a source of... said
"nutrition."
I want to write down some of my ideas.
It's a starting point... but... things surely need to be changed.
Generally:
School breakfasts and lunches are free to staff and students.
Only if they want seconds are they required to pay.
(take the money from the overly-costly school books)
Everyone gets to eat a good breakfast and lunch if they want it.
A strict accounting is made daily of all foodstuffs. No stealing.
Food trays should hold a cup securely to prevent spills...
perhaps made of fiberglass... custom-designed... that won't stain...
(a quick search reveals that they don't make secure cup holder slots).
The tray-set pictured is close... but not what a secure tray would be.
A secure soup bowl slot is a good addition to a school tray.
Soups for lunch are wonderful (easy and cheap)
with a half-sandwich of grilled cheese or rolls on the side.
I'm going to include soup in my lunch ideas, now.
Teachers can take a count of their students' choices each day
and any special dietary restrictions that might apply
so that the cooking staff can anticipate quantities.
Teacher's daily helper can walk the list down to the cafeteria office.
Trays and bowls can be washed in soapy water and then
put in a sanitizing hot rinse cycle of the dishwasher.
No harsh chemical soaps or even a wash cycle needed.
After moving through a fan dryer... they get stacked and put away.
Everything easy and quick. Trash/recycle the drinking cups and utensils.
Most of the food preparation is done the day before... after lunch.
Processed food will be avoided completely.
Parents can request ingredient lists.
Breakfast:
Baked buttered toast with/without cinnamon sugar
made with a mild whole wheat sliced commercial bread.
This is an easy dish to prepare...
butter one side with softened butter, stack a few
then slice diagonally and place on baking sheet,
sprinkle half of these with cinnamon sugar... bake 5 minutes
Keep 'em coming hot from the oven, as needed
Choice of beverage:
a 6-oz. cup of orange juice, tomato juice, or plain white milk
poured from a chilled 48-oz. container... into a plastic cup...
as each student chooses... after choosing an entre'.
Oatmeal made from "quick oats" (keep it comin' hot)
topped with thawed, sweetened frozen berries, strawberries, peaches,
or half a banana... or cooked apples... ??
or just toss on some cinnamon sugar.
Breakfast casserole of potatoes, eggs, sausage, onion
Lunch:
Dinner menu is for dinner time. This is lunch time.
If kids are not being fed dinner at home... give them food stamps.
Sandwiches with soup or a vegetable salad
made with home-baked mild whole-wheat buns
Most can be prepared the day before... ready to assemble...
(and then, don't be skippy on the ingredients)
Egg salad boiled egg and mayo
Chicken salad
frozen raw chicken breasts, baked... with boiled eggs, onion, celery, mayo
cold meatloaf and ketchup
ham and cheese thinly sliced like the deli serves it
Instead of chips... offer... radishes, carrots, celery...
Homemade soups
chicken soup with herbs & veggies, use the tough celery stalks
tomato soup tomato sauce, garlic & onion salt, milk
chili soup ground beef, beans, tomato sauce, spices
ham & bean soup use what you have
Salad
Assorted veggies... carrots, onion, squash, broccoli, etc
with a lemon juice and oil dressing with herbs marinate
maybe broccoli is best steamed/cooled with a mayo/catsup dressing...
green mixed-lettuce salad with choice of homemade dressing
vinegar, oil, herbs... or "thousand island" catsup and mayo
Dessert
Jello with fruit cocktail and real whipped cream on top
Yellow sheet cake topped with strawberries or peaches
Orange juice float with a dabble of ice cream in a 16-oz. cup
I think it's called a "Dreamsicle."
Nobody is starving around here...!!!
Maybe there could even be an afternoon snack...!!!
