Lunch is served

Boomer Musings

By Leslie Riseden

Early on a humid September morning, the aroma of lunch being cooked already hung in the heavy air. It might have been cabbage -- pungent and overcooked to a pale shade of gray. Or it could have been spinach -- poured from five gallon cans into stainless steel pots the size of washing machines, and boiled beyond recognition. On most Mondays, the main course was red beans and rice. Since one serving in ten might have a thimbleful of sausage in it, this qualified as meat, starch, and vegetable all in one dish. Fridays almost always meant fish sticks (more stick than fish) served with cold, limp French fries and a dollop of ketchup. Add a tablespoon of canned fruit cocktail and – voila – a balanced lunch.

We slid our trays past the expressionless servers, in white uniforms and hairnets, each of them wielding a foot-long spoon to serve up whatever was in front of them. You didn’t get to ask for extra, nor could you refuse any portion. If you didn’t want what was served, you dumped it in the large trash can, put your tri-section melamine plate in one bin, and your stainless steel fork in another, and went without lunch. Your choice of beverage was milk or ... no milk. There were no vending machines with soft drinks, chips, and cookies (let alone burritos, soups and sandwiches.) There were no ice machines, and no microwaves. And there was certainly no “going out for lunch.”

That all sounds pretty dismal. In all honesty, it was. And it wasn’t prison. It was high school.

For context, I should disclose that I attended public high school in a suburb of New Orleans in the 1960s. In our area, at least, it seems that the school systems were still struggling to catch up with the strain that the baby boom was putting on their facilities. Most of my classes had 40 or more children, school busses were full to bursting, teachers were scarce, and most schools had to put up temporary buildings for extra classroom space. My graduating class was well over 1000 boys and girls. No doubt, school budgets were stretched thin in every department, and they all did the best they could.

Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to observe school lunches in one of the school districts in our area. More than anything else, I am amazed to see the variety of foods from which the children can make their lunch selection. Two or three entrees, vegetables, salads, fresh fruits, and a whole line of beverages and desserts. Children can pick and choose what they want -- or don’t want. All food is served on disposable dishes, and eaten with disposable spoons and forks. Kids still have to clean up after themselves, but schools don’t have to wash (and re-use) dishes and silverware.

Admittedly, this has been my first visit to a school lunchroom in 50 years, and maybe things have been like this for a while. But, for the record, I just want to say that -- on the whole – I think we’re doing a much better job of feeding our kids at lunch time. Why cook spinach and cabbage they’re not going to eat anyway? It seems that schools have come up with a way to give children several choices from a healthy array, and that they’re doing their best to see that the kids eat something nutritious, while letting them pick what they want to eat. Bravo, schools. Well done