School Lunches Around the World

I read a very interesting article on Upworthy on how American lunches stack up against school lunches around the world.  It's interesting to see the difference in what children eat and what kind of nutrition is offered.

American lunch: Fried popcorn chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, fruit cup, and a cookies.


Spain: Shrimp over brown rice and vegetables, gazpacho, whole grain bread, an orange, and fresh bell peppers.


Ukraine: Mashed potaotes with sausage, borscht, cabbage, and syrniki.


Greece: Chicken over orzo, stuffed grape leaves, tomato and cucumber salad, fresh oranges, and Greek yogurt with pomegranate seeds.


South Korea: Fish soup, tofu over rice, kimchi, and fresh vegetables.



Brazil: Fresh mixed vegetables, black beans and rice, salad, bread, and baked plantains.


France: Steak, carrots, green beans, brie and fresh fruit.


Finland: Pea Soup, beet salad, carrots, bread, fresh berries, and pannukakku.


Italy: Fish on arugala, pasta with tomato sauce, caprese salad, baguette, and grapes.


The organization that headed this project of viewing school lunches is called Sweetgreen. 
They are committed to helping student choose healthy choices for lunch with their in school lunch program. They've also conducted workshops in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and New York City on fitness and sustainability.

While each picture doesn't represent all school lunches.  A variety of pictures were received and they reconstructed an accurate blend of what is offered.  To me it's interesting to see the variety offered in other countries like Italy, France, Brazil, and Greece.  I know I would have traded my school lunch for theirs in a heartbeat!

In contrast it was interesting to look at the pictures of lunches posted on Twitter from students across America.  It seems the new food restrictions on calories and other nutrients has really reduced the choices for many.  Some of the food looks absolutely disgusting.

Below are some examples of what was sent in.



Buzzfeed did another article with pictures of authentic school lunches around the world.  I'll add some of those pictures below.  Again it's interesting to see the variety.





Above: Japan



Above: Korea

 France

 Sweden

 Czech Republic

 
Singapore

 Kenya

 Honduras



Slovakia

 UK



Taiwan

 Ghana

 Chile

 Philippines

 Estonia

 Brazil

 China

 USA

It's interesting how many countries have nutrient dense school lunches.  It's also curious to see how little some children are fed.  Some children only receive seasoned rice, porridge, or only avocados.  While lunches in the United States are filled with fat, preservatives, and sugar there are other children who receive a healthy choice but it's only one food and doesn't offer anywhere near the amount of nutrition they require. 

Sources:

• http://www.upworthy.com/these-school-lunches-from-around-the-world-should-embarrass-the-us?c=tkp1
• http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/teens-are-sarcastically-tweeting-thanksmichelleobama-with-th#.hhdBnNRBR
• http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/what-school-lunches-look-like-in-20-countries-arou#.gvAOw6jOj