Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Hungry? We’ve got lunch for you.

The Thematic Photographic theme for this week is “Hungry?”  It’s the week of our school play, so eating time is limited, and rushed.  But, I figured that since I‘m doing lunch duty every day it would make for good photo fodder.

So,  for those of you who have not had the opportunity to enjoy a scrumptious public school luncheon in a while, I bring you our typical menu, in photos.

The entrée for the day:  Some chicken-nugget like stuff, mashed potatoes, corn, cheese and gravy.   Mmmm.  All this and a pint of milk for $1.65.

Pizza is offered every day.  It actually is made fresh every day at the school.  You can have pepperoni, cheese or vegi.  Comes with tater-tots, chocolate or 2% milk, and as much ranch dressing as you can squirt on the plate.  $1.65 also.

Another daily special:  Chicken sandwich.  With tater tots and a pint of milk.  (You guessed it) $1.65.

Made to order “deli” sandwiches.  Your choice of ham, roast beef or turkey with white cheese food or yellow cheese food.  Garnished to your liking, with milk and tater-tots.  $1.65.

Nachos.  Yum.  $1.65.

Calzone, pepperoni or cheese only.  Comes with ranch, thousand island or Italian dressing to dip in.  Price?  Ha! You’re wrong.  This is at the ala-carte window, which means you can’t use your school lunch funds to buy it, cash only.  $2.00.

9th graders are officially High School students, and allowed more calories in a school lunch than the 7th or 8th graders.  This time the extra is these graham crackers.  For those of you who have always thought graham crackers were somewhat bland, you need to try these.  Next time you have the Keebler ones you’ll think they are downright spicy.  We call these the “sheetrock crackers.”  They bought a month’s supply, we’ve had them for almost 3 months now.

Who’da thought there would be a “school lunch” clique and…

…a “sack lunch” clique.  Most tables are not this segregated, but I caught these two tables and couldn’t resist posting them.

Of course there are some students that trade their more nutritious parts of their school lunch for a couple of all time favorites.

And some parents don’t find themselves locked into sending their kids to school with the traditional brown paper lunch sack.  Waste not, want not, I guess.

After lunch you can get a slushie for 50 cents.  One of today’s choices was this unnatural lime green.

Tater tots may be yummy, but they also make great projectiles.  Several kids a day get reprimanded for throwing them at their friends.  The pizza?  I think that just fell on the floor, and there actually exist junior high kids that won’t eat off the floor.

Last, but not least, what do you do with all the garbage and left over food?  Why make “lunch art” of course.  There are two main goals to lunch art: 1) make it as gross as possible or 2) (as in this case) make it stand as tall as possible.

Bon apatite!

6 comments:

Michèle et Jean-Claude said...

Oh dear, school lunches haven't changed much in 40 some odd years! Thanks for the memories Max.

21 Wits said...

Not so sure about the nugget somethings, but for the most part, it all looks really like real live and yummy lunches, and my best and most favorite drink ever, MILK! All the paper bags are just cute, and I guess they're all getting a bit too old for lunch boxes. Even if I still love a good old lunch box, maybe because my mother never let me have one, like all the other students??

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

LOL!

This is a great collection, Max.
~

Gilly said...

Oh my! School lunches over your way are certainly unlike those I used to know! (Mind you, that was too many years ago!) Stodge, stodge stodge, with horrid watery yellow custard. Stews - well, I won't describe them. Potato out of a packet.

And we ate every scrap!

In mitigation I must add that food rationing was still current, we were all growing boys and girls and dieting hadn't been heard of. No need, we ran outdoors, bounced indoors and never had too much food!!

Bob Scotney said...

Unrecognisable from 60 years ago. Even I would prefer what you have shown us.

Lisa Shafer said...

This is why I stopped eating federal lunch when I was in 9th grade.
The only time I go into our cafeteria is when I'm assigned to do lunch duty/cattle herding.

Nice photo essay, however.