When it comes to cafeterias, trays, lunch queues, etc., everyone is familiar with them, but in fact, school lunches have only appeared in the past 100 years. So what changes have school lunch in the United States undergone in the past 100 years?
School lunch最早的开始
Before the early 1900s, most children lived near schools and went home for lunch. During this time, lunch is considered the main meal of the day and should not be eaten in a hurry or simply skipped. Children whose homes are far away from school usually bring a cooled box lunch to eat, or put the ingredients they bring into a communal stew to enjoy with everyone. At this time, the concept of a school cafeteria did not yet exist, and children who needed to eat at school could only eat at their respective tables.
Lunch in the industrial age
With the development of industry and commerce, more and more mothers need to work in other places, parents have begun to work farther away from home, and more and more children are forced to stay at school for lunch, resulting in an increasing demand for school lunch programs. At that time, Boston and Philadelphia were the first to implement the lunch program. Beginning in 1894, with the promotion and funding of organizations such as the Women's Education and Industry Union, Philadelphia began serving students hot meals known as "penny lunches," including hot soups and cookies. In 1910, due to the existence of the Department of Home Economics, students who needed lunch at the Boston Girls' Trade School were able to get more refined food. Lunch consists of celery soup with croutons, tomato filling, apple shortbread, and baked beans with brown bread.
The appearance of cheese patties
In the process of raising the "baby boomers" (named after the surge in births after World War II), more and more supplies are needed to meet the growing needs of a new generation of schoolchildren. These needs include more protein-rich foods to make up for lost time and calorie deficits during food rationing. The increased demand for protein has led to food items such as cheese patties, ham and bean scallops, and sausage shortbread appearing in cafeteria queues and trays.
Lunch pizza is added
In the 60s of the 20th century, pizza and other local food were added. As the school lunch program expands across the country, menus are no longer just for the target community, diversity is needed to attract more students. Foods such as pizza, hot sauce, tortillas, tacos, or chili have become commonplace on the weekly menu.
American-style fast food appeared
By the mid-'70s, there had been a dramatic increase in the number of American-style fast food served in school cafeterias across the country. These include weekly burgers, burritos, pizza, fried chicken, tacos, and mashed potatoes, which are ubiquitous on today's school menus. Even ketchup and kimchi condiments became acceptable vegetables.
Fast food chains took over cafeterias
By the mid-90s, the government waved a new era of nutritious school lunches. Companies like McDonald's are allowed franchises in canteens, and even boxed lunches contain a range of nutritious convenience foods.
Campaigns to improve school lunches
By the early 2000s, the health of young Americans was clearly affected by the invasion of fast-food chains. More than half of U.S. schools have junk food vending machines or fast-food franchises, and childhood obesity rates have skyrocketed as a result. Under Obama's leadership, the new Healthy Hunger-Free Children Act was signed into law. During this time, school lunches were slightly improved, with more fresh fruits and vegetables added, vegetable toppings and side dishes added to standard fast food offerings, and foods such as turkey hot dogs.
In 2020, public school students began receiving free lunches. As of October 2023, nine states have continued to implement the program, including California, Maine, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Vermont.
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