A tasty lesson on life, lunch

So I made the ultimate sacrifice last week: I ate school cafeteria 
lunch. I am kidding. It really wasn't all that bad and it was a good 
lesson--and blog. It seems not much has changed in the decades since I 
spent time in a school cafeteria.

I was at the boys' new school for one of my first volunteering efforts. 
It was picture day for the lower grades (K-2) and I was told it would 
be a lot of fixing collars and combing hair--basically making sure the 
kids looked OK. It turned out they already had someone else to do that 
job so instead I basically escorted the kids off the cafeteria stage 
and down a ramp they had probably never used before and into the 
cafeteria where the rest of their class would be waiting.

  It was an all day assignment so rather than going home to get some 
food (a 5-minute drive) I figured it would just be easier to eat lunch 
with my younger son. Afterall, it was cheese quesadilla day in the good 
old cafe so why not? I like quesadillas.

But I forgot I have not been through a cafeteria line in decades. 
Grabbing a milk to drink was easy enough but I almost forgot to grab a 
tray. And then there were students in line in front of me who wanted to 
talk--wanted to know who I was and why I was there: Was I a teacher? 
Then what to order: The cafeteria worker plopped 4 quesadilla triangles 
onto my tray (and I wondered why the shell had bumps on it--what made 
it that way? My tortilla shells don't look like that when I make them). 
Then a side of Mexican rice and another side of corn was added to my 
tray. I also grabbed a banana that I ended up NOT eating and a frozen 
fruit bar for my son that I knew he would want.
Lunch was $3 (not bad for all the food I got). The student 
meal--slightly smaller is only $1.75. The cashier asked if I wanted to 
put it on my child's account but I didn't (wanted to save the money for 
them). So I paid cash, which they did not seem to like.
Then my son and I sat down in the guest section and I tried the food. 
Just as gross as I remember when I was a kid.

In all seriousness it was not that bad. The quesadillas were OK, just 
OK--probably not the kind that children would like. I know my son did 
not even want to try them even after I added sour cream (which he 
loves) to them. I am guessing many children tossed the Mexican rice. It 
is not something a child's palate would enjoy. And the corn was 
forgettable. There was nothing spectacular about this meal or that 
would make me want to eat it again.

Parents, please do not be fooled. Your children are NOT eating the 
school lunch you are paying for. It's just not appealing enough to 
them. Did you ever wonder why they were so hungry when you picked them 
up after school? I was the lunch committee chairwoman at our last 
school so I spent a lot of time supervising lunch. The children throw 
out EVERYTHING they don't want or don't have time to eat and that 
included unopened bags of chips, cookies and Capri Suns as well as 
fruit or salad that they did not care for. I was amazed at how much of 
their lunches went straight into the trash because the either didn't 
like it or spent most of their time socializing.

I know school systems have spent a lot of time and effort to make the 
lunches healthier than when I was in school but little else has changed 
in the way of flavor and appeal. And trust me, the kids are picking and choosing which items they eat. So be sure to have some snacks ready after school. Even on pizza day. I'm just saying.