Have you ever wondered what food they have in other countries near and far from our own? If you do, you aren’t the only one looking for more information on this topic. I had the same question so I decided looking up foods from other nations that could be a good comparison to the U.S. Together we will see if American school lunches are the best or the worst.
There are many countries that are completely different in their sense of taste than we are, like the Brazilians. They implement all the important components a meal should hold like, grains, veggies, fruits, proteins (meat), starch, and a healthy drink option. While in the USA we do thing differently because in most public schools the components put on the menu depend on the day of the week. This could be a terrible choice since adults want the students learn to the best of their ability, without being distracted by the nutrience they didn’t get that day in school.
The “fns.usda.gov” website stated, “Menu for Grades 9-12: Choose 1: hamburger on bun OR turkey sandwich (2 ounce equivalents of grains and 2 ounce equivalents of m/ma each) Choose up to 2: seasoned corn, green beans, potato wedges (1/2 cup vegetables each)” Each day of the week can hold a meat and grain component of the food triangle, but the students only have the option to choose between fruits or veggies on different days. This would be inefficient for the students who don’t even get enough food at home, if the food triangle is cut off one day and left for the next, everyday would be a distraction for that student.
In general even the lunches in the USA lack valuable nutritional balance in comparison to the lunches of Greece or Italy. The “distractify.com” website says Greece school lunches are, “Baked chicken over orzo, stuffed grape leaves, tomato and cucumber salad, fresh oranges, and Greek yogurt with pomegranate seeds.” The website also states, “Surprisingly, the lunches in these other nations were far more nutritious and fresh, when compared to the processed meals served to American children. Through this visual project, Sweetgreen hopes to raise awareness and promote school lunch reforms in the US.” Even citizens of the US and people that have eaten American school lunches for years agree that other countries have parts of the food triangle that shadow our food in comparison.
In the US school systems should focus more on the freshness and nutrition of our food than what the taste is because in the end the more the kids eat the food the less they focus on the taste, more so how much power it gives them and fills them up for the rest of the school day.