School Lunches Around The World

All around the world school lunches differ from each other. The Healthy Hunger-Free kids act in 2010 required USDA’s child nutrition programs to meet the new policy. The new policy had to be met by changing school lunches into healthier food choices. In Japan, their food system and strategies differ from schools in the United States.
“I personally don’t eat lunch at school because the food doesn’t fascinate me, “ Victor Montiel ‘16 said.
Oregon school lunches are provided by The National School Lunch Program, which is administered at the federal level by the USDA and at the state level by the Oregon Department of Education. The Salem Keizer School District food menu consists of whole grain waffles, bagels, cinnamon rolls, and french toast for breakfast. For lunch the food choices consist of chicken fajitas, beef teriyaki with brown rice, and chicken sandwiches. Foods such as pizza and hamburgers went from being made with white bread to whole grain bread, and most foods are pre-frozen before being served to students. It is also required to get a fruit or vegetable along with your lunch. Many students bring their own food from home.  Although many of the food choices for students have gotten healthier, the same food choices are still available.
An article on the Washington Post about school lunches in Japan mentioned that Japan schools lunches are made from scratch, with the ingredients being grown locally. Differing from some school districts in the United States, students do not eat in a cafeteria, students serve other students and eat in their classrooms. Throughout elementary and middle school, students can not  bring lunch from their home until they start attending high school.
Contrasting from Japan, in Europe school lunches are eaten in the cafeteria. In Sweden and Finland their lunch servings are followed by the plate model, which tells how much of each food category a person should consume.
In 2010, Congress passed a law that high schools have to serve no more than 750 to 850 calories per student lunch. Over the past years school lunches have gotten healthier. All around schools serve and produce the food in different ways.