What was you worst school cafeteria meal. Mine was a concoction of mashed potatoes with ground meat on top--no gravy

[debm55]

just the grease from the ground meat.

[Elessar Zappa]

1. Lol, I loved that meal that you're talking about haha.

I actually can’t think of anything from the cafeteria that I didn’t like, from the dry burgers to the square pizza. The enchiladas were good too. I’m a weirdo lol.

[debm55]

3. Oh my,

[Demovictory9]

128. I loved the burritos

[debm55]

129. Thank you. We never had burritos or tacos.

[Demovictory9]

132. 😥

[Chipper Chat]

2. We called it "shit on a shingle"

But we ate it.

[debm55]

4. I scraped the "meat" off and just ate the potatoes.

[lapfog_1]

55. shit on a shingle has an actual definition

canned chipped beef on toast with white (flour, butter, milk) gravy.

A WW2 Navy shipboard standard. I had it at home many times because my dad was a WW2 Navy vet.

[Chipper Chat]

67. Yeah that looks like it

Except we got it on white bread not toast

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

116. "SOS" was one of my favorite breakfasts in the Army mess hall.

Sometimes the meat was chipped beef, other times hamburger. Either was great.

[stopdiggin]

5. there was some kind of meat pattie ....

kind of a cross between a salisbury and a sausage .. ? And, honestly - even though unexciting - the vegetables were the better bet.
Like the majority above - we ate it. (and had to pay for it)
But, the alternative was packing a lunch from home (for like 3 of us) - and that was pretty much, "Yeah .. right!"

[debm55]

6. My school had a choice of sandwiches--tuna, BPJ at the end of line. After you got your crummy meal.I think every day I

had tuna sandwiches. I would look down the counter and see what they were serving . Pizza on muffins with American cheese was a second no go.

[debm55]

84. that's funny that the veggies would be better then the meat. TY 😀

[RoadRunner]

7. Frito pie

A soggy mess that tasted and looked like shite.

[debm55]

9. . Did you eat it?

Last edited Tue Jan 23, 2024, 05:46 PM - Edit history (1)

[RoadRunner]

10. Negative

Traded it to Mikey for the lunch his mommy packed. It worked a few times.

[debm55]

12. Funny, did he have Oscar Meyers bologna sandwiches like the commercial?

[RoadRunner]

13. Ha ha. This was before people had televisions

And probably before Oscar Mayer too. We be older than dirt.

[alittlelark]

76. I loved Frito pie! Still do - so do my kids....

You must have had a bad cafeteria lady.. I was at Highland and it was Great !

[debm55]

85. It must be very good, Thank you.😀

[malthaussen]

8. Sloppy Joes, I've always hated them. n/t

[debm55]

11. I like them, when I make them. Not a school choice for me. It would have been tuna sandwich day. The thing is we never

got a menu. What was being served was posted at the beginning of the meal line.

[rsdsharp]

14. In my high school they were the daily alternate choice to the main meal.

They weren’t good, but they were often better than the “primary” choice.

[debm55]

16. We had the sandwiches as our alternatives

[malthaussen]

79. IIRC, we had hot dogs as the daily alternate.

I loved the chicken a la king, which was basically a chicken pot pie without the crust. I could eat two servings with no problem.

-- Mal

[debm55]

81. i remember chicken a la king, Ours were served on the infamous muffin.

[jpak]

78. The (French speaking-only) French Canadian students called them

"Slippy Jews" and they inhaled them...

[debm55]

100. Why?

[jpak]

121. They had very little ability to speak English

And real French people couldn't understand their heavily accented Quebecois speech.

[debm55]

122. Thank you.

[jpak]

124. You didn't want to hold up the lunch line if you valued your life.

Yup

[debm55]

125. I remember that.------the lunch line. TY jpak

[Wicked Blue]

15. Ours was a one-time disaster

The junior high cafeteria ran low on its usual gluey chow mein, which came in gigantic cans.

They decided to stretch it by adding spinach and oatmeal. It looked ghastly. Most of it got dumped in the trash cans.

I'm surprised there wasn't a food riot. On the other hand, we were well-brainwashed little robots in the mid-60s.

[debm55]

17. That sounds terrible. One time I did eat their spaghetti. Luckily, I got there early. They ran out of noodles and put

them the sauce on FF.

[blue neen]

22. Your school gave you some unusually revolting choices!

[debm55]

23. The school was huge--700 students in each grade AND it was from an upper middle class suburb of Pittsburgh.

[surrealAmerican]

18. The "Salisbury steak".

It was literally yesterday's dried out hamburgers with lumpy gravy on top.

I really liked the pizza that looked like potholders.

[debm55]

19. hahahahahahh Did it have American cheese on top?

[surrealAmerican]

20. the pizza?

No way. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood - they used real mozzarella, sliced (not shredded).

[debm55]

21. Yes, my school English muffins, I swear ketchup and American cheese.

[Archae]

24. Our school tried soy burgers.

They went over like a lead balloon.

[debm55]

39. Oh too bad.😒

[North Shore Chicago]

25. My school was great!

The cafeteria (ladies) queue Adam Sandler actually made the meals! Absolutely no thawing pre-made frozen foods.

My personal favorite was sloppy joe with corn on the cob. These women knew each of us by name and knew our favorite food!

[debm55]

40. That's great. Ours was pre-made. 👍

[parkia00]

26. Chow Mien in a can

And sliced flat pieces of what I think is ham. Each slice about 6x4 inches and smothered in an Donald Trump colored syrup with pieces of pineapple. Served with rice pilaf. The ham syrup was soooo sweet it was like eating sugar and became unedible when mixed with the salty rice pilaf.

[debm55]

42. We had something like that but with a side of scallop potatoes. Our "ham" had a red color but the pineapple was there.

[MOMFUDSKI]

27. I loved all the food. A particular favorite was

mock chicken leg with mashed potatoes and gravy and a vegetable. Best dessert was cherry cobbler. When that was served it made my day! Also sloppy Joe as my mom didn’t make it at home.

[debm55]

43. What is a mock chicken leg? Yes I liked the cobblers they made. TY

[LakeArenal]

28. I liked "hot" lunch. Especially sloppy Joe day.

Liked the “Spanish” rice day too.

I didn’t mind the Salisbury steak but not the gravy on it. Sort of a tomato/ beef gelatinous blob.

Even in later years, working near a hospital, we would often eat lunch at the cafeteria.

[debm55]

44. Salisbury steak was a no go for me.

[LakeArenal]

68. We both will eat the Swanson frozen Salsbury steak.

Are we weird?

[debm55]

86. oh no. Everyone has their own tastes

[jpak]

29. All our wonderful school cooks were great

And did their best to give us fresh tasty healthy meals and snacks - no matter what they were dealt with...

No riots in the cafeteria - too busy eating.

My favorite - "American Chop Suey"

[Squaredeal]

33. My parents couldn't afford the school lunches. We got lousy sandwiches.

But, the worst item was the cafeteria’s rice pudding, with raisins. Most kids hated it; however, to be allowed recess, they had to eat everything in their lunch.
My younger brother would accept many of the hot lunch kids’ deserts, more than he could possibly eat, so he would just dump the remaining puddings on the floor underneath the lunch table, on his way out and away from where he sat. He would then show the empty bowls to the cafeteria monitor and be released for recess. The teachers never caught on that was him.

[debm55]

45. Thank you for your answer. Most kids in my cafeteria just ate the things they liked and talked the rest of the time.

Because out HS was big-2100 in three grades , we had no recess. so lunch was it.Most times in JR and Senior High I made my own lunch.

[beaglelover]

71. Whereabouts did you grow up? My husband is from Boston and remembers the American Chop Suey and he

still makes it occassionally for dinner. I love it. Total comfort food!

I think we've even served it to guests!

[jpak]

74. Maine

[debm55]

101. Thank you jpak,

[liberal N proud]

30. Pork and beans

To this day 50 years later, I cannot eat beans

[debm55]

46. Agree.👍

[japple]

31. Dad was in the Army, so we were moved around a lot. The best cafeteria

meals I remember were served in our grammar school in VA, the DOD schools in Germany, and our junior HS in Utah. I refused to eat liver, but most everything else was good. We were often served fish sticks, chuckwagon rolls (like a savory cinnamon roll with ground meat rolled up inside), roast beef, turkey, mashed potatoes, veg-all, butter beans, hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans. When we moved to Utah in the 1960s, we were introduced to pizza--a new and exotic food for us. Of course it was cafeteria pizza with no herbs and spices, but we liked it. When we tasted real pizza, of course we thought we'd died and gone to heaven.

ETA: Growing up in the 50s & 60s, cafeterias cooked almost everything from scratch and it was pretty good food.

[Squaredeal]

35. My mom was my high school's head cook.

She cooked everything from scratch. Even the teachers ate her lunches. Thankfully, I had graduated by then since my siblings’ teachers would always keep my mom updated on how her kids were doing in school.

[debm55]

48. Yours sound good. Mine was in the 60s and 70s. Most was really nasty,😒

[debm55]

83. Thank you, japple,

[debm55]

95. Agree,

[debm55]

102. Thank you japple,

[Ocelot II]

32. We called it Mystery Meat.

There were always globs of fat among the ground chunks of whatever - as far as we knew they were using road kill. Squirrel? Raccoon? It was one of those few unknown meats that didn't taste like chicken. It was nasty.

[debm55]

50. We called it that too. 😜

[niyad]

34. The worst one, for which I was not present, was cold "meat"balls stuffed with

peanut butter. I was off-campus during lunch that day, and was told about it by a number of outraged sufferers on my return. The food in the cafeteria had been declining steadily for weeks, and many felt that this was pretty much rock bottom. I spoke to the principal, and said that unless something was done, a strike would be called. He thought I was bluffing, although, from nearly four years of contentious interactions, he should have known better. The strike lasted a week, and there was a shake-up in that department. The food suddenly got much better.

When I was in elementary school, I encountered school cafeteria "spinach" for the first time. I pointed at a tub of something green and weird, and asked what it was. "Spinach". "No, it looks like slime. I love spinach, and that is not it." My mother cooked fresh spinach with a garlic cream sauce, which was incredible. Same reaction when I first encountered what was called "goulash" (ground meat, macaroni, and tomato sauce). Goulash is a beef and vegetable stew. Sighhhhh.

[debm55]

52. That is so true--Goulash is stew. I worked in schools for 40 years. and if you think it was bad then, you should see it

now. I was asked to get something out of the supple room. They had these huge cans of mac and cheese. beef a ronni. and of course the government issued American cheese and Peanut Butter. Yuk. And the spinach was slime. Couldn't even tell what the heck it was. Good for you for standing up for your fellow students.

[Ziggysmom]

36. Liver! Forced to eat it in grade school. Back in the 60s there was still a lot of corporal

punishment in schools, and forcing kids to do stuff. One liver lunch day, I thought I'd be cool and hide the liver in my half pint milk carton. Big mistake, forced to eat it, followed by vomiting at my desk. After being vegetarian for many years, now I almost gag sometimes when I cook meat for the husband. But I draw the line at liver. If he wants liver & onions, he can go to a diner by himself; I can't even stand the smell.

[japple]

38. Same here. Could not stomach the liver and it still makes me nauseous

to smell it cooking. My late husband loved calves liver with onions and chicken livers. He had to get his fix whenever we ate at a restaurant that served it!

[debm55]

56. Children should NEVER be forced to eat something . Give them alternatives to pick from--a salad bar, sandwiches, etc. I

feel sorry for you

[Wonder Why]

37. Worst meal was unknown meat on the day all the cats disappeared.

[debm55]

57. HAHAHAHAHAHAH, Who knows that may be true.

[Picaro]

41. That's it...

I think every cafeteria at every public school had that one. It looked good until you tasted it the first time. Then you never asked for it again. But the other alternative was some sort of interpretation of spaghetti which somehow was flavorless and tasted awful simultaneously.

[debm55]

58. I Taught for 40 years, saw the cans that stuff came out of. If only you knew.

[GreenWave]

47. College cafeteria meal

The day the fundies first showed up to harass us.
I was first in line as usual.
Lady at counter: Where's your suit? Where are your parents?
My bestie interrupts her: Leave him alone. He's an orphan!
Lady: Oh forgive me Jesus for I have sinned!
Not learning her lesson, she challenges him about no parents invited or suit!
Greenwave: Ma'am. How do you think we know each other? From the orphanage! Do you know what it is like to be rejected for years from your would be parents?
And the fundie ladies did not lop on the extra food as it was Sunday and NO dinner despite the ad to have three meals a day.
So apparently the rest of the gang from the same orphange got together and we pushed the tables together to have a massive group table.
Then the angry counter lady came over to me.
You! You started all this! Now give me your name!
Greenwave: I beg your pardon ma'am. We have not been properly introduced and I prefer an age appropriate person for my hand in marriage.
Angry lady: I am going to report you to the Dean. Just tell me your name!
GW: OK ma'am. Since it is Sunday I will not tell you one lie. My first name is Ernesto. But my friends call me Che.
Angry lady: I will call you Ernesto. Now how about that last name?
GW: Guevara.
Angry Lady: Spelled as Gay?
GW: Yes as in not heterosexual. (Recap: I told her three lies not one.)
That day the fundie lady had all our names: Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman; Eldridge Cleaver; Meow Say Tongue; Carl Marx; Leon Trotsky etc. They sure don't let them read them there sinning books about politics!

I don't remember the meal.

[debm55]

59. HAHAHAHAHAHA, That is great. TY-----

[Demovictory9]

131. College dorm cafeteria..a cafeteria staff member mashed cold cream cheese into a salad

Or something weird like that...crunched potato chips on it...i cant recall the details. But it was weird.

Wasnt even a recipe..the person just decided to freestyle it.

I said something and the head cafeteria person ran and grabbed the bowl off the serving line.

[k55f5r]

49. Ironic, but the worst meal

in the cafeteria at Mill Plain Elementary in the early 60's was my favorite.
Weenies and Sauerkraut. I love sauerkraut, and all my friends hated it, so I would get sauerkraut from everybody around me.

[debm55]

60. You were the person to sit next to for weenies and saurerkraut day. 😜

[k55f5r]

92. not AFTER lunch. ;)

n/t

[debm55]

93. Hahahaha So true

[Permanut]

51. "Deli" sandwiches..

A little dry roll with a slice of bologna and a slice of some kind of cheese.

I'll put those up against anybody in the worst sandwich contest.

[debm55]

61. Teacher here, you were most likely eating Government issued "meat" and "cheese" When we had it at out school , I would

tale pff the meat and cheese and just eat the buns.

[3catwoman3]

87. I might be able to compete for the worst sandwich ward.

This sandwich actually came from home.

In the late 1950-early 1960s, my mom was one of the few working moms in out neighborhood - school nurse. Mornings were busy with getting dresses, breakfast eaten, teeth brushes, beds made - top sheets had to have those perfect hospital corners. So, in the interest of efficiency, we would make 5 days’ worth of sandwiches every Sunday evening, and put them in the freezer. Take one out in the morning, pop it into your lunch box, and it would be thawed by lunchtime.

I’m hear to tell you that egg salad on white bread does not freeze well. It thaws into a disgusting soggy mess. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

To this day, I cannot eat an egg salad sandwich.

[Permanut]

89. I yield to your sogginess.

Can't top that one.
.

[debm55]

94. Not good at all.

[Thunderbeast]

53. What was advertised as "PIZZA"

Thick bread-like crust topped with un-seasoned tomato sauce and melted Velveta (American "cheese" food product).

I lived in a city that did not have a pizza parlor until I was in high school. It took many years to recover from the school cafeteria version of pizza.

[debm55]

62. Sounds like ours. I swear the sauce was ketchup. The "cheese" was Government issued American.

[CrispyQ]

54. That sounds bad. Could you ask for potatoes only? I would have.

Our school lunches were pretty good. The lunch ladies got to know what you liked & would add extra things you liked or skip things you didn't like. Desserts were always good & back then we had fish sticks or veggie pizza on Fridays, also always good. Chocolate milk was available on Fridays, too.

[debm55]

64. Our school was huge. HS 700 kids in each grade. It was two big to that . You got what you got. Yes, fish sticks every

Friday. Went home, what did we have--fish sticks.

[Farmer-Rick]

63. Do you know why you and the kids today are served such crap in schools?

When I was in Elementary school they served the most delicious meals. Now, not all of them were winners but the meat was real and the vegetables were fresh from the farmers.

There was the chicken corn chowder they made that had locally grown saffron in it. It was soooo delicious.

But then came the corporate take over of the USDA. The USDA buys commodities in huge bulk amounts. Sixty percent of which has to be some corporate farm's surplus. The quantities that the require can only be produced by corporate farms and factory like animal husbandry. The cheaper the better.

These commodities are then processed by huge factories, in some US but mostly foreign countries, into cans, frozen chicken nuggets, pink slime and chicken slurry. After all 60% of this is stuff the corporate farms couldn't sell to anyone else.

As the USDA puts it: "Commodity Processing allows participants in the school lunch program to contract with commercial food processors to convert raw USDA bulk commodities into more convenient, ready-to-use end products."

By buying this crappy processed food, the schools no longer need to hire real cooks. And they save money.

In most school contracts for the federal school lunch program, there is a requirement that the schools buy USDA processed foods at least 90% of the time. And since most schools have done away with real cooks in the cafeteria, they have to buy these processed foods because they don't know what to do with real chicken or real steaks or even real salad fixings.

This is how corporate farms have pushed out the small local farmers and force the schools to feed our kids crap.

It doesn't have to be this way. The delicious saffron flavored soup was served regularly without a problem back in 1969. It could be again, if the US government thought it was more important to feed our children healthy food instead of making a profit for corporate and factory farms.

[debm55]

65. Agree with you. Today. in most schools, you have servers not cooks. As a teacher I saw the huge cans of ravioli, chop

suey, All that is done now is open the cans, heat it up and serve. I agree with you 100%, Schools were more or less forced into the situations they are in. I applaud you for posting the information. In fact. the teachers at my one school decided to make our own salads, with each teacher bringing in a different veggie or a sandwich bar with bread from a bakery, deli meat and cheese and fixings. Again thank you for your terrific post.

[Generic Brad]

66. The canned green peas that were mushy and brown

The nuns would force me to eat them (so as not to waste food they said). They got wise to me hiding them in my milk carton (which was always lukewarm and on the verge of turning). One day my peas were discovered floating in that grey curdled milk and they made me drink the entire thing. Half way in I threw up.

That was in 5th grade and was the last day I ever ate a school lunch. After that, I brown bagged it for the remainder of my time in school.

[debm55]

96. That is disgusting that they made in drink/eat the concoction.

[Generic Brad]

120. Private religious school

That says it all.

[debm55]

123. Me too and I agree.

[jmowreader]

69. Surprise Burgers

These were so bad the Supreme Court declared feeding them to prisoners constituted cruel and unusual punishment - which meant they were perfect to serve as school lunch. The pictures I've seen of prison loaf look a hell of a lot like the...well, I GUESS it was meat...in Surprise Burgers. The cruel fuckers then wrapped them in some sort of dough before they were baked so you couldn't see what you were in for. Being in for ax murder wouldn't justify being fed these.

They served them only three times.

The first time, the surprise was how awful they were. No one was able to finish one.

The second time, the surprise was that they were exactly the same as they were the first time. They may have been the same ones.

The third time, the surprise was how many of us read the local paper, which published next week's school lunch menus. Everyone brought a sack lunch that day, and Surprise Burgers vanished from the menu foreverafter.

[debm55]

105. Wow. that sounds terrible.

[hunter]

70. The fish they served on Fridays was nothing like the fish my dad caught and cooked.

Usually it was the ultra-economy version of minced frozen fish sticks. Sometimes it was a mystery frozen fish filet in a strange butter sauce.

The meatless cheese pizza otherwise served on Fridays wasn't entirely horrible because they actually made the pizza dough from scratch. The cheese was real too. The sauce was from cans, but it wasn't the lowest quality available.

My children had it worse. The cafeteria didn't have a complete kitchen staff as ours did. Almost all the food was manufactured elsewhere, ready to serve with minimal preparation, including the frozen pizza.

School lunches are free where we live for anyone seventeen years or under because it's simply not worth it to collect money from children who don't qualify. My children usually chose to bring lunches they made themselves from home. Unlike the schools of my childhood there are always fresh fruit and vegetables available in our schools -- apples, oranges, carrot sticks, and so on, but a shocking number of children pass these by.

[debm55]

106. You had real pizza dough??? My school must have had a ton of government issued muffins or they read a book on 101

things to with muffins. and they did.

[LudwigPastorius]

72. In high school it was "Salisbury Steak".

That's what they called it.

We called it "Bubble Steak", because the viscous fluid on top (purported to be gravy) always had bubbles in it...like whatever animal the meat patty was made of was exhaling its final death rattle.

In the college dorm cafetorium, it was "Black Olive Loaf", an accursed casserole that was served almost daily. The only identifiable ingredients were, black olives, government-surplus-grade cheese, and reconstituted onion bits (I hope that's what they were).

[debm55]

107. HAHAHAHAHHAHA I love your post.

[Paladin]

73. Hamburgers.

Or as we called them, "Afterburgers." Nasty stuff.

[Permanut]

88. Afterburgers..

[Paladin]

90. Ah, yes. High school hilarity. (nt)

[debm55]

109. Yes. you would think that you couldn't go wrong with a burger, WRONG. I ate one one and cracked a tooth on something

hard inside. Never ate again,

[Paladin]

112. In Texas, public schools served Mexican food on Wednesdays.

Turned all of us into Mexican food addicts...

[CTyankee]

75. That is upside down Shepherd's Pie. We get it fresh made at our food market (cold months only). Hubby loves it.

I just heat it up and serve it with whatever raw veggies I have on hand, usually celery and carrot sticks but also pepper strips, black olives, cherry tomatoes

[debm55]

99. I love Shepherd's Pie. It is easy to make. The everyone likes it.

[WheelWalker]

77. Fish heads and rice. . .

with roux-like secret sauce.

On edit: Out of the university dorm kitchen

[debm55]

98. I would not eat that.

[LoisB]

80. Thank you for your "survey" posts. Such a welcome respite from Trump, Trump, Trump.

I don't remember any cafeteria food.

[debm55]

82. Thank you.

[3catwoman3]

91. Besides many/most/maybe all of the above mentioned...

…unappealing proteins, my high school cafeteria was very fond of making a vile concoction with lemon or lime jello containing shredded carrot strips and mooshy canned peas.

Completely disgusting -

They also served what they identified as Welsh rarebit. I remember the name, but not what actually ended up on the plate.

No choices - 1 “entree,” one veggie, one dessert

[debm55]

97. Remember the jello stuff with shredded carrots and peas. I have made Welsh rarebit with melted chees over toast. Glad we

had a choice of a sandwich for lunch.

[yellowdogintexas]

103. the worst fish I ever tasted. I think it is the reason I am very picky about

anything that swims. '
It was nasty stuff, stunk up the whole school.
On fish days we sometimes had fries so I ate those. We did have a soft serve machine and it sold out quickly on fish day

[debm55]

110. That's because it was low graded fish , Who knows what the heck it really was.

[yellowdogintexas]

148. poorly cooked too. I did not even want to know what it was.

I knew it stunk up the whole building which was enough for me

[debm55]

149. Agree.

[piddyprints]

104. School cafeteria meal?

Never had one. We packed a sandwich and an apple. I always thought the school food looked pretty yummy, and certainly more substantial than what we had.

[debm55]

111. It wasn't,

[RobertDevereaux]

108. Among other things, canned peas

My first day at Newbridge Road School in Belmore, NY.

Clear recall of the "taste" of them, which happened mid-1950's.

After that day, it was my Howdy Doody lunchbox all the way.!

[debm55]

113. Yes those canned peas with the "liquid " in them were terrible.

[Diamond_Dog]

114. My Jr. High school

Served “tomato beef macaroni” almost every damn day. I think they made a truckload of it in September and kept on doling it out until June. Very bland with tasteless sauce and mushy pasta. Once I got to High school I packed my own lunch every day. I never once saw pizza served for lunch, ever. Back then, pizza wasn’t eaten for meals, it was more of a snack or a party food. My parents wouldn’t think of eating pizza for dinner. In our house it was meat and potatoes.

[debm55]

118. Same here with the pizza, Never for meals. Evening snack only while watching TV, I think the sauce in tomato beef

macaroni was tomato soup. As a teacher, I would go into the supply room and there were large cans of Tomato soup, canned ravioli. tuna fish and veggies. I am not talking about the large cans we could buy, but industrial size, Bag upon bag of Nachos and industial size cans of nacho cheese and salsa. In freezer were in Government cheese , ham and turdkey(imitation turkey_) I asked the lunch lady where they got this and she told me it was food from the government.

[TlalocW]

115. Not the meal but just the side - Spinach

From a can. I like the raw version, but the canned is just seaweed-esque. Fully 75% of the kids wouldn't eat it so I don't know why they kept serving it.

[debm55]

119. They had to as the government kept very close tabs on what was used and what to replace. The staff had to fill out

Last edited Mon Jan 29, 2024, 11:50 PM - Edit history (1)

papers every day after lunch to make sure what was used.how many ate, etc. How do I know? We were having a Cinco de Mayo party in my 5 grade SS class. The kid that was in charge of the Nacho chips brought in a bag of crumply mess. I went down to get a bag of chips, The "staff called the principal and told me I stole the chips. JC they had could give my class one bag. That's when I got the low down on all their paper work matching what they had on had. I ran the little market next to the school and bought 2 bags and placed in the boy's backpack. I didn't want him embarassed as the party was last period. As a side note the head lunch lady goes to a week long convention on making healthy and tasty meals--

[ProfessorGAC]

117. No Cafeteria In Grade School

And, we had really good food at our high school cafeteria.
The my undergrad school had a fantastic food service. The company serviced several small & medium sized private colleges. They had a fantastic reputation in the Midwest.
I sympathize with many here that had lesser experience with school food.

[Runningdawg]

126. Tuna casserole. I couldn't even eat my brown bag lunch in the cafeteria on those days. The smell.....

There were never any choices. You got a plate of food and said thank you. 54 people in my entire school, K-12. The Native aunties and grandmas who staffed the cafeteria fed us GOOD.

[debm55]

130. Oh my. yes the tuna casserole. Meow.

[Demovictory9]

133. Thats a small school! My schools had more than 1000 for only three grades!!!

[debm55]

134. My HS had 3 grades 700 in each grade, no wonder the food was processed.

[Demovictory9]

135. Your HS was in Calif, NY or Chicago?

[debm55]

137. Western PA, It was a mix of 3 local smaller districts--- new name Norwin School District ,We had two Jr Highs,

Last edited Wed Jan 31, 2024, 10:46 PM - Edit history (1)

a sixth grade school, and tons of Elementary Schools. They later down sized the school. There is only one JR High, No 6th grade school and the High School now includes 9,10,11,12, I went there in the late 60s to early 70s. Bommer Time.

[Demovictory9]

146. Ok. Thx for info. My big hs was in big city

[debm55]

147. No problem, alot af the districts were merging and forming Mega Schools. The problem now is they are not needed , So now

they are downsizing the monsters they created. That happened all over the area. Not too much looking to the future.

[doc03]

127. At that time I wouldn't eat spaghetti, my favrite was sloppy joe day.

[debm55]

138. I pass on both, I did the cooking at my house and I made the best spaghetti and sloppy joes and Isaly's BBQ sandwiches.

then I would go to work at Pizza Hut,

[sakabatou]

136. I don't remember the last time I went to the cafeteria

I mostly got homemade lunches.

[debm55]

139. Didn't you eat your bag lunch in the cafeteria? We had to.

[sakabatou]

140. No, there were benches/tables outside

[debm55]

141. You were lucky.

[LeftInTX]

142. My kids would go to a summer program where they had free sack sandwiches.

The meat was greenish......gross....

I can't remember the worse slop from HS.
There were some things that I bought, but certain foods I tried once or twice and then avoided them. I think one was like a "slop" of stuff. I can't remember what they called it.

[debm55]

143. Gross, Did you go to the administrator of the program?

[LeftInTX]

144. Nah....I live in a pretty ghetto area...

[debm55]

145. Thats a shame because people in poor areas need healthy and nutrious food