What School Lunch Looks Like Around The World | Around The World | Food Insider
TLDRThis script explores the diverse lunchtime experiences of children across the globe, highlighting the cultural and nutritional differences in school meals. From the four-course feasts of France to the balanced plates of Finland, and from the hearty Ukrainian borscht to the organic Italian pastas, each region offers a unique culinary education. The script also touches on initiatives like Farm to School in Hawaii and the constitutional right to food in Brazil, showcasing the importance of nourishment in education.
Takeaways
- 🍽️ French students enjoy a four-course meal with a variety of fresh ingredients, including a salad, protein, cheese, and a sweet treat.
- 👩🍳 In Japan, children participate in cooking, serving, and cleaning to learn about healthy meals, which are rich in rice, vegetables, and fish.
- 🥘 Nigerian students are provided with balanced meals that might include jollof rice with chicken and vegetables.
- 🥗 Finland was the first to offer free lunches to students with high nutrition standards, featuring vegetables, starches, and proteins.
- 🍲 South Korean lunches are served on steel trays with portioned rice, soup, kimchi, vegetables, and meat.
- 🌱 Ethiopian meals are largely plant-based with dishes like lentils and split-pea soup eaten with injera, a fermented flatbread.
- 🏝️ Hawaiian children benefit from the Farm to School Program, receiving meals made from local, fresh ingredients.
- 🥣 Ukrainian lunches consist of three courses, including a soup like borscht, followed by meat and starch, and ending with a sweet biscuit.
- 🧀 Italian students in Rome are served meals that are legally required to be 70% organic, with pasta and protein courses.
- 🥗 Thai students receive the most nutritional lunches in Asia, with balanced meals including grilled chicken, rice, and a green papaya salad.
- 🍱 Chinese families pay a small monthly fee for children to receive a box lunch with rice, meat, and vegetables.
- 🥗 Brazilian schools are required to provide healthy meals with 30% of ingredients sourced locally, including fresh foods like frittatas.
Q & A
What kind of meal do French students typically have for lunch?
-French students can expect up to a four-course meal at lunch, starting with a salad of fresh vegetables, followed by a quality protein like salmon, a course of soft cheeses, jam, and fresh bread, and finishing with a sweet confection like marzipan.
How do Japanese schools approach teaching healthy cooking to students?
-In Japan, kids take turns helping to cook, serve, and clean up for their peers, emphasizing the importance of healthy meals that are heavy on rice, vegetables, and fish.
What is unique about the school meals provided in Nigeria?
-Students in Nigeria are fed well-balanced meals each day, which could include smoky, tomato-y jollof rice with chicken and steamed vegetables.
Why is Finland's school lunch program notable?
-Finland was the first country in the world to provide free lunch to every student, with the law ensuring high nutrition standards, including a requirement for vegetables like beetroot salad and roasted turnips to take up at least half the plate.
How are school lunches structured in South Korea?
-In South Korea, students eat off steel trays that are sectioned out for perfect portion sizes, with the bigger section for rice, a circle for soup, and smaller portions for kimchi, vegetables, and meat like marinated pork shoulder.
What is the primary dietary characteristic of Ethiopian school meals?
-Meals in Ethiopia are largely plant-based, with an array of foods like spicy lentils, zucchini, and yellow split-pea soup called kik alicha, eaten with injera, a fermented flatbread.
How does the Farm to School Program in Hawaii benefit students?
-Thanks to the Farm to School Program, kids in Hawaii can expect meals made from scratch with local, fresh ingredients, such as a chicken stir-fry with veggies and fresh-baked bread.
What is the typical structure of a Ukrainian school lunch?
-Ukrainian kids get their lunch in three courses: a soup course like borscht, followed by meat and starch like grilled sausages with potato- and cheese-stuffed dumplings called varenyky, and finishing sweet with a shortbread biscuit.
What is special about the school meals in Italy, especially in Rome?
-Italian students receive a two-course meal, and by law, if they reside in Rome, the meal must be 70% organic, including a pasta course and a protein with vegetables for the secondo.
Why are Thai school lunches considered the most nutritional in Asia according to the World Food Program?
-Thai students receive balanced meals that include grilled chicken, rice, and an antioxidant-packed, spicy, sweet green papaya salad, contributing to their high nutritional value.
How much does it cost for families in China to provide a school lunch for their children?
-Families in China pay a monthly fee of about 70 cents per day for children to receive a box lunch containing rice, meat, and vegetables.
What is the requirement for school meals in Brazil in terms of sourcing ingredients?
-In Brazil, schools are required to provide students with healthy meals, with 30% of ingredients sourced from local farmers, ensuring fresh food preparation like frittatas loaded with veggies.
What is the typical school lunch experience for children in India?
-Kids in India show up to school with a tiffin box, a stackable metal container filled with a home-cooked meal that varies depending on the region, such as parathas with boondi raita in Northern India.
What is the school lunch situation in Guatemala?
-Kids in Guatemala typically go home for lunch, where they'll eat dishes like pasta in a tomato sauce with beets and tortillas.
What is unique about the school lunch in Israel?
-In Israel, school finishes before lunchtime, but kids bring aruchat eser, a morning meal, which could include a small snack like pita with hummus and a hard-boiled egg.
What is the typical lunch for students in the UK?
-A kid in the UK might be served baked cod fingers with a hot jacket potato, a heaping side of beans, and a handful of chocolate biscuits for dessert.
How do Mexican students approach lunchtime?
-In Mexico, instead of a meal, kids might bring along a morning snack such as a torta layered with spicy bean dip, sliced ham, tomato, and fresh crisp lettuce.
What kind of food do Australian students typically have for lunch?
-Australian kids eat lunch outside, bringing food from home or buying meals from a cafeteria or street vendor, which can include classic takeaway comforts like a sausage roll and sweet chocolate biscuits called Tim Tams for dessert.
What is the lunch situation in Norwegian schools?
-Norwegian schools don't have cafeterias, so kids bring a light lunch from home, which could include an open-face sandwich with liverwurst, accompanied by mustard and cheese, with milk and fresh fruit provided by the school.
How do Pakistani schools ensure the healthiness of students' lunches?
-Although students in Pakistan bring a home-cooked lunch daily, teachers are known to contact parents if meals don't err on the healthy side, with options like aloo gosht, a stew of lamb and potatoes, paired with roti and mango lassi in the summer.
Outlines
🍽️ Global School Lunch Traditions
This paragraph explores the diverse lunchtime experiences of students around the world. It highlights the four-course meal enjoyed by French students, which includes a salad, protein, cheese, and dessert. Japanese children participate in cooking and serving their meals, emphasizing rice, vegetables, and fish. Nigerian students receive well-balanced meals with jollof rice and chicken. Finland's commitment to free, high-nutrition lunches is noted, with a focus on vegetables, grains, and proteins. South Korea's portion-controlled steel trays with rice, soup, kimchi, and meat are described. Ethiopian lunches are plant-based with lentil dishes and injera bread. Hawaiian meals are made from local ingredients, Ukrainian lunches consist of borscht, meat, and starch, and American lunches might feature grilled cheese and tomato soup. Italian meals are often 70% organic, Thai lunches are considered the most nutritional in Asia, and Chinese lunches include rice, meat, and vegetables. The paragraph also touches on the school lunch practices in Brazil, India, Guatemala, Israel, Trinidad and Tobago, Hong Kong, the UK, Mexico, Australia, and Norway.
🥪 Home-Cooked School Lunches and Cultural Insights
The second paragraph delves into the home-cooked lunch traditions of various countries, starting with Norwegian students who bring open-face sandwiches made with liverwurst, a spreadable pork liver sausage seasoned with cardamom, coriander, and mace. Milk and fresh fruit are provided by schools. In Pakistan, teachers monitor the healthiness of students' lunches and may contact parents if the meals are not up to par. Common dishes include aloo gosht, a lamb and potato stew, served with roti and mango lassi in the summer. The paragraph ends with an invitation for readers to share their thoughts on which school lunch they would like to try and to comment on any traditions that were not covered.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Lunchtime
💡Four-course meal
💡Healthy cooking
💡Well-balanced meals
💡Nutrition standards
💡Portion sizes
💡Plant-based meals
💡Farm to School Program
💡Organic food
💡Antioxidant-packed
💡Constitutional right to food
Highlights
Lunchtime at school is a crucial part of a child's day.
French students enjoy up to a four-course meal, starting with a salad and including quality protein and cheese.
Japanese children participate in cooking, serving, and cleaning to learn about healthy meals.
Nigerian students receive well-balanced meals including jollof rice with chicken and vegetables.
Finland was the first country to provide free, high-nutrition lunches to all students.
South Korean students eat from steel trays with portioned sections for rice, soup, and other foods.
Ethiopian meals are largely plant-based, with dishes like spicy lentils and kik alicha served with injera.
Hawaii's Farm to School Program ensures meals are made from local, fresh ingredients.
Ukrainian lunches consist of three courses, including borscht and meat with varenyky.
In the US, a typical lunch tray might include grilled cheese, tomato soup, and a dessert.
Italian students in Rome are served meals that must be 70% organic by law.
Thai students receive the most nutritional lunches in Asia, with balanced meals.
In China, families pay a small monthly fee for children to receive a box lunch with rice, meat, and vegetables.
Brazilian schools are required to provide healthy meals with 30% of ingredients sourced locally.
Indian children bring tiffin boxes with home-cooked meals that vary by region.
Guatemalan children go home for lunch, often eating pasta with beets and tortillas.
Israeli students bring a morning meal, which could include pita with hummus and an egg.
Trinidadian and Tobagonian students might have oxtail stew for lunch with buss up roti.
Hong Kong students are served a combination of steamed broccoli, pork, and rice.
In the UK, school lunches might include baked cod fingers, jacket potato, beans, and biscuits.
Mexican students often bring a morning snack like a torta with various fillings.
Australian children eat lunch outside, with options ranging from home-cooked meals to street food.
Norwegian students bring light lunches from home, such as open-face sandwiches with liverwurst.
In Pakistan, teachers may contact parents if the children's lunches are not healthy.
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