What School Lunches Look Like Around The World

The concept behind school lunch — feeding kids in an institution rather than at home — originated in Germany in the 1790s; Count Rumford, an American-born man, started offering food to poor children who worked part-time to pay for food and school. These meals were rudimentary and made with relatively inexpensive ingredients like barley and potatoes. School lunches didn't catch on in America until the 20th century, with charitable institutions like the Women's Educational and Industrial Union providing food for nearly 5,500 kids daily (via Mental Floss). The meals at this time featured items like vegetable soup, marmalade sandwiches, bread, and baked beans. 

Anyone who grew up in the American school system probably has not-so-fond memories of cardboard pizza, par-frozen juice, and tiny containers of chocolate milk in the lunch line. But the way we think of these standard meals in the US is very different from those around the world. Here are some of the ways other countries serve up school lunches.

According to Study International, school lunches in Japan are designed by nutritionists and provided to all primary — and some junior high — school students across the country. These meals are eaten in the classroom rather than in a separate cafeteria, with lessons about nutritional eating integrated into the curriculum. 

Japanese school lunches are centered around a healthy blend of proteins, carbs, fats, and milk. These foods are almost entirely made from fresh rather than frozen, processed foods. You may see plates of rice with grilled fish, cooked spinach and sprouts, miso soup with pork, and sides of soy milk served with the meal. Families may also prepare obento boxes for school-aged children filled with rice, meat, fruit, and vegetables in cute, colorful designs. 

According to The German Way & More, lunch tends to be the largest meal of the day for Germans. SNC notes that schools allot time between 12 and 2 in the afternoon to have "mittagessen." The meal usually begins with a starter course, such as a potato salad, followed by kartoffeltaschen (stuffed potato pockets) or wurst (German sausage). There is also often a large serving of bread, like pumpernickel, rye, or white bread, served with the lunch. You may also find fresh fruit or vegetables in some students' meals.

Soups and salads are usually reserved as sides for a smaller dinner.

China expanded free school lunches to all students in the country in 2011 and has seen dramatic increases in the nutritional well-being of rural children (via Nikkei Asia). This program has transformed the typical midday meal from rice and soybeans to eggs, soy products, and meats like savory pork. You may also see noodles, buns, and rolls served in canteen-style trays.

Several traditional dishes have made their way onto Chinese school lunch menus, like tomato eggs — a scrambled egg dish served with spices and tomato sauce — and sides like steamed bok choi, fish and vermicelli noodles, and mandarin oranges (via YouTube). 

Finland has a federally-funded school lunch program that serves close to 850,000 students each day. Children's meals feature several local recipes and staples, including a warm main course that can be made vegetarian with beans and sprouts or fish or meat. The entree is also served with a side of vegetables, which can be in the form of a salad, grated, or steamed. You'll also find bread with water and semi-skimmed milk or buttermilk to drink (via Finnish National Agency for Education). 

In addition to the regular lunch, the government also supplies snacks for youth participating in before or after-school activities.

Thai school lunches always contain rice, fruits, and vegetables, with the ratio typically being up to 33% rice, with the remainder being one or two sides (via the Cambridge University Press). According to Beyond Pad Thai, students' meals may include Kai Pa Lo — a Thai soup made with egg, tofu, braised pork, and seasoned with Chinese five spice. You might also find stir-fried pork with lemongrass and bitter eggplant served with stewed cabbage. The sweet desserts offered to students can include coconut jelly and fresh fruit. 

As a whole, there is a lot of diversity in Thailand's school lunches that satisfy various palates among students. 

According to Kenya Kids Can, more efforts have been made to provide githeri, a mix of beans and corn, to children during the school day. Normally, most Kenyan students walk to school and do not bring packed lunches with them. Some families will send their kids to class with chai tea, or the students will walk home for lunch — but often won't return to finish the rest of the school day.

A lot of capital investment is needed to secure universal lunches for Kenyan students during the day — the bulk of which is currently supported by non-profits and community groups.

Per Sips of Coffey, most schools in Ireland do not have a canteen but rather require students to bring lunches from home and eat at their classroom desks. Students can choose to eat some of their food during a short mid-morning break or wait until the traditional midday meal. Additionally, their lunches must not require refrigeration or must be able to be eaten cold since they are not given access to a microwave. As a result, many children eat cold sandwiches or leftovers for their meals.

The Irish school system has placed limits on the foods students can eat in the classroom. Policies prohibit students from drinking soda, sweets (including candy, chocolate, or cookies), or processed foods served in a foil wrap — like chips and pretzels.

Cafe Liz notes that the Israeli school system forbids parents from sending sugary snacks, treats, and foods with their children's packed lunches. Students eat the meals at around 10 in the morning, with a hot entree served for students staying later in the day at around 2 pm. Parents often send their kids to school with pita or sandwiches, along with fruit and a spread like hummus, nut butter, or tzatziki. 

Forward shares that school-provided meals in Israel are not mandatory and have thus created great inequality when it comes to socioeconomically disadvantaged children who cannot afford to bring lunch to school with them. 

Since Ethiopia has a large Orthodox population, many meals served in the country's, albeit small, school lunch program are plant-based. Foods like injera, a flatbread made with teff flour, are popular sides in schools around the country (via A Well-Fed World). 

According to the GCNF, traditional school feeding measures typically utilize donated meals from nationwide aid programs. The lunches are made with corn-soy blend plus (CSB+), a complete-protein, carbohydrate-rich food made with corn and soy. This product is most often fortified with nutrients and minerals like B12, iron, vitamin A, and iodine — commonly deficient in many Ethiopian children's diets. 

In the United States, student meals take on a very unhealthy persona — compared to school lunches worldwide. While some parents still send their children to school with packed lunches, most American students rely on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). These meals are subsidized based on income and widely available at low costs to all families. Typical options served are notoriously disgusting and may include "mystery meat" hamburgers, soggy taco meat with shreds of brown lettuce, and the all-too-popular tater tot and chicken nugget combo (via NPR). 

Increased emphasis on farm-to-school programs has expanded the options to fresh food for some American students, but most are left with unhealthy, unappetizing choices. 

School lunches in Indonesia are relatively simple — they might include fruit like bananas and fried chicken. The dishes from the cafeterias, which mothers of the schoolchildren often cook, are made to have a healthy dose of carbohydrates and protein (via Reuters). 

Students without access to regular school meals often rely on vendors or canteens to supply food, per The Japanese Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics. Kids without access to money may not be able to eat during the day, thus contributing to negative health implications such as stunted growth and malnutrition. There has been some momentum for the Indonesian government, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations, to offer widespread programs to provide more consistent meals to students across the country. 

According to Food24, the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) is the primary food provisioning agency for schools in South Africa. Each hot meal provided by NSMP includes a protein (like soy, fish, eggs, or beans) and a starch like bread or rice. Other traditional starches include samp — dried corn kernels pounded into a meal — or a maize porridge called pap. Fruits and vegetables are also included in each lunch. 

Currently, the NSNP feeds nine million youth in the country — most of which come from no-fee-paying schools. In turn, the NSNP has become an important organization in the country for lessening the inequality and negative health disparities between youth in South Africa.