Food, Social Issues
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Kids can form better eating habits when schools provide them with healthy food, but unfortunately, not all of these establishments are capable of doing so.
There's a notion that students from the US or the UK usually walk to their cafeteria in disdain while their Asian peers are getting served mouth-wateringly fresh meals.
But is this always the case?
To show you that not everything is black and white, we at Bored Panda put together a list of photos that reveal what schools from all over the world put on their plates. Bon appetit! (Or not.)
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#1
My Korean School Lunch Of Udon, Egg And Pork Cutlet Deopbap, And Various Banchan
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DUN DUN DUN DUN Community Member Follow
Once again, 5-star cuisine food display
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#2
Here's My Awesome Korean School Lunch! Schools Have A Qualified Nutritionist To Plan The Lunch Menu
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DUN DUN DUN DUN Community Member Follow
This looks like a 5-star cuisine food 👀
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We managed to get in touch with a few folks from South Korea, a country that dominates the top of this list, to learn more about their menus. One of them is Reddit user u/darkrealm190. "My school doesn't really serve one thing the most because they do a super big variety!" they told Bored Panda. "It takes about 2 weeks before something repeats. However, there are some constants, like they always have rice, some soup or stew, and banchan (side dishes in Korean) and [some] protein!" u/darkrealm190 said the overall quality of the food was good. "It's definitely not bland, extremely healthy, and widely varied." In fact, they couldn't even think of how the catering could be improved. "It's as good of a school lunch as anyone could need or want," u/darkrealm190 said. "I would also like to add that the lunch is free to all the students!"
#3
My Korean School Lunch Of Crab Soup, Braised Chicken And Potatoes, And Various Banchan
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DennyS (denzoren) DennyS (denzoren) Community Member Follow
Dudeee...is this a restaurant posing as a school? Lol
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#4
This Is What Swedish School Lunch Looks Like
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DUN DUN DUN DUN Community Member Follow
My mouth's watering
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#5
My Free School Lunch Today In Finland
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Sue Lynn Chan Sue Lynn Chan Community Member Follow
I can smell the food
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The other Redditor we talked to was u/StiffCrustySock and they gave us a similar description. "There is (almost) always rice, kimchi, and some kind of soup. Then, a Korean-style protein of some kind, most often pork-based ... [but we also sometimes have] 'Western-style' foods like burritos, a slice of pizza, spaghetti and sauce, etc," they told Bored Panda. "There will usually be a fruit of some kind as well." "Overall, the school's food is excellent, I enjoy about 95% of it. And compared to other schools around the world I've seen, I'm glad to have this quality lunch." However, u/StiffCrustySock would like a small change. "[They could] probably reduce the salt content and aim for less carbohydrates in each meal. Otherwise [everything's] pretty healthy." The Redditor also suggested giving Korea's kitchen a go if you find yourself drooling over their pictures. "Everyone should try Korean food if they get the chance. The flavors are excellent."
#6
Today Was Veggie Burger And Sweet Potato Fries For Lunch In The School's Cafeteria In Germany
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Everything_Fubar Everything_Fubar Community Member Follow
Nice
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#7
Typical School Lunch In South Korea
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Molly Block Molly Block Community Member Follow
Okay, so can we all agree that Korea has THE BEST school lunches?
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#8
School Lunch From My Country. Where Am I? France
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Ekaterina S Ekaterina S Community Member Follow
Eclairs! 😍
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You could make a case that the quality of school food somewhat correlates with kids' health. In the United States, for example, the percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s and in 2017–2018, an estimated 19.3% of those aged 2 to 19 years were obese. The CDC said that a comprehensive approach is needed to address this issue in schools, especially for elementary and middle school students. Scientists know less about what school-based obesity prevention approaches are effective for teens. The term 'comprehensive approach' means directing attention to nutrition and physical activity in schools and involving school nurses, parents, caregivers, and other community members (like pediatricians and after-school program providers) in the process. But we are yet to see any meaningful results.
#9
My Finnish School Lunch (Vegetarian)
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Pearl Pearl Community Member Follow
Wow
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#10
School Christmas Lunch In Finland (Free)
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TmKhr TmKhr Community Member Follow
Specifically this is school lunch around Christmas, there's ham, salmon and rutabaga casserole.
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#11
School Lunch In Sweden
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Got Myself 4 Dwarves Got Myself 4 Dwarves Community Member Follow
Looks yummy
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#12
Public School Lunch In Minnesota
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DUN DUN DUN DUN Community Member Follow
This looks good to me
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#13
School Cafeteria Lunches In Finland
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JuJu JuJu Community Member Follow
Finland is a solid second after Korea
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#14
Public School Lunch In Sweden
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Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker Community Member Follow
Great, and with Rykrisp!
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#15
My School Lunch In Beijing, China
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DKS 001 DKS 001 Community Member Follow
hey, they serve lotus root
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#16
My School Lunch. It Was Very Nice. UK
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I-Hate-Everyone I-Hate-Everyone Community Member Follow
Must be a private school because public school dinners in UK don't look like that. I went to public school and we were never served anything like that ever
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#17
Breakfast At A Public Charter School, Austin, Texas
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Rissie Rissie Community Member Follow
Not half bad right?
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#18
Some Pictures Of My School Lunch In Japan. Nutritious And Delicious, Japan Knows How To Feed Their Kids
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ForgotMyPWSendHelp ForgotMyPWSendHelp Community Member Follow
I'm sure it's good if the person says so, but the photo doesn't make it look like it.
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#19
The School Lunch From A Elementary School In Colombia
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Dorothy Parker Dorothy Parker Community Member Follow
Almost perfect for kids who don't want their foods to touch.
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#20
Food In One Of The Moscow Schools. It's Macaroni And Cement I Guess
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DUN DUN Follow
That title deserves an award
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#21
My Swedish School Lunch (100% Free)
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JuJu JuJu Community Member Follow
Potato fritters, cranberry and cottage cheese...good one
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#22
My School Likes To Do Fruit Water In Our Dining Hall. So Today We Got Jalapeño And Pineapple Water
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M@rlow_the BLINK M@rlow_the BLINK Community Member Follow
I've had this!!! It actually tastes really nice!!!
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#23
Lunch At A Korean Elementary School
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Glirpy Glirpy Community Member Follow
Eat it... before it eats you!
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#24
School Lunch In America Since We’re Posting School Lunches
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Toni K. A. Toni K. A. Community Member Follow
That doesn’t look too bad for America!
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#25
The Vegetarian Option For Bolognese At My School Is Literally Just A Bag Of Ketchup
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Earl Grey Earl Grey Community Member
I don’t understand the concept of a vegetarian Bolognese, since Bolognese is a complex ragù that is centered around ground beef, pork or veal.
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#26
Are We Still Doing Lunch? This Is The Teacher Lunch At My School. All This Was For $4.50
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Helen Wood Helen Wood Community Member Follow
you got robbed
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#27
What A School In UK Calls A Hotdog
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R L R L Community Member Follow
Looks like a fly pupa.
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#28
My School Serving Almost Raw Pizza
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MellonCollie MellonCollie Community Member Follow
What a shame.
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#29
The Cheese They Put On Our School's Hamburgers
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Caro Caro Caro Caro Community Member Follow
That's not cheese, that's sponge bob's blanket.
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#30
Complaining About School Lunches? Here's My School's "Philly Cheese Steak"
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Felix Feline Felix Feline Community Member Follow
This is why I would sometimes blackout in elementary school. I refused to eat that kind of thing, and in the afternoon I would faint from hunger.
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Zedrapazia Zedrapazia Community Member
Seems like eating lunch in Korea is quite awesome, considering how many pictures revolve about the country's dishes.
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Cat Crazy Lady Cat Crazy Lady Community Member Follow
I agree. They look really good. :)
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Chinmayee Kalghatgi Chinmayee Kalghatgi Community Member Follow
I came here for learning about different food kids eat around the world but midway through i thought that this was supposed to be a school lunch shaming post
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Wouter Wouter Community Member Follow
People complaining about their crappy school restaurant food. Meanwhile, in Holland, they get their 4 slices of wholewheat with sweaty cheese out of the backpacks that was put next to the heater all morning. Wrapped in the saddest and flimsiest of all plastic bags, the 'boterhamzakje'. It even sounds depressing. CZ3q4GVWAA...373ea5.jpg
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WilvanderHeijden WilvanderHeijden Community Member
I'm very happy that you explicitly stated that this is only in Holland. In the rest of the Netherlands students enjoy decent home packed lunches in real lunchboxes. Sucks to to be a Hollander.
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Zedrapazia Zedrapazia Community Member
Seems like eating lunch in Korea is quite awesome, considering how many pictures revolve about the country's dishes.
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Cat Crazy Lady Cat Crazy Lady Community Member Follow
I agree. They look really good. :)
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Chinmayee Kalghatgi Chinmayee Kalghatgi Community Member Follow
I came here for learning about different food kids eat around the world but midway through i thought that this was supposed to be a school lunch shaming post
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Wouter Wouter Community Member Follow
People complaining about their crappy school restaurant food. Meanwhile, in Holland, they get their 4 slices of wholewheat with sweaty cheese out of the backpacks that was put next to the heater all morning. Wrapped in the saddest and flimsiest of all plastic bags, the 'boterhamzakje'. It even sounds depressing. CZ3q4GVWAA...373ea5.jpg
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WilvanderHeijden WilvanderHeijden Community Member
I'm very happy that you explicitly stated that this is only in Holland. In the rest of the Netherlands students enjoy decent home packed lunches in real lunchboxes. Sucks to to be a Hollander.
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