In my primary school years I would go home for lunch each day, travelling several miles by bus there and back. On the odd occasion I did stay at school to eat, my favourite by far was cornflake tart! In middle school we sat at tables of eight and two people were elected to "serve" the other six, including scraping their plates into the slop bucket which we believed was sent to feed pigs. My friend and I were at a table with 6 boys and we would trade our mains for their puddings. Massive blocks of sponge cake with a jug of (sometimes pink) custard was a real treat. At break the tuck shop sold crisps and at lunchtime an ice cream van would park up at the school gate!
In High School it was a canteen style arrangement and I would bypass the solid crusted meat pies and spam fritters in favour of a salad. This was served with a slab of fish paste which I would give away and make myself a lettuce and salad cream sandwich with the remaining food. Sometimes I would use the 25p to go out of school to buy a carton of milk and an apple or sometimes sweets. A friend's nan lived nearby and she would feed us spaghetti hoops on toast at her home.
The College I attended had a canteen too and I would queue for a salad sandwich and a Nutty Bar (believing that with no chocolate on it I wouldn't get spots ... how wrong I was!)
Upon starting at the village school, my twin niece and nephew returned home with stories of their adventures there. My sister was very puzzled when they told her for lunch they had eaten "really tiny, teeny tiny little meatballs". She told the dinner ladies how much they'd liked them, only to find out it was mincemeat!
My own children seemed to regularly eat pizza, pasta and hotdogs at school although I do remember fruit drinks being banned in favour of water.
A few years ago Jamie Oliver campaigned to ban junk and processed foods from schools and eventually tighter nutritional guidelines were introduced.
New regulations this year stipulate that there is at least one portion of vegetables and salad each day and no more than two portions of fried and pastry based food on offer each week. Drinking water is the preferred beverage.
Certainly there is more choice these days with healthier options and specific dietary needs being catered for from halal meats, gluten free, vegetarian and vegan foods. Whilst there is clearly still room for improvement, thankfully school dinners are heading in the right direction!
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