Kids around the world have gone back to school—that means homework, new friends and … lunch? Yes, that’s right!
All across the world, people gather around food to share celebrations of life. Let’s visit different countries and see what yummy food the school kids eat every day! Please comment and share a country you’ve visited or lived and what a common meal is there.
FRANCE – French children enjoy a 3 or 4-course meal that is made from high-quality ingredients, and are mostly made from scratch. The children all sit in the same eating area, the cafeteria. An interesting fact is that there are no vending machines in schools, because they’re banned due to the high sugar and fat content of the treats they carry. Typical school lunches here can have a variety of dishes and ingredients, such as grilled fish, salad, red beans, seasonal vegetables, garlic sausage, fruit salads and chocolate flan (just to name a few). Another perk is that the food is served on plates and eaten with real silverware!
JAPAN – In Japan, the school lunch ingredients are locally sourced and almost never frozen; in addition, the schools employ nutrition experts that work with kids and teach them the importance of good eating habits. Like the children in France, Japanese kids also eat in a community-like setting with their peers, and even their teachers! The children also wear white hats and robes to serve their classmates, which teaches them teamwork and respect. You can expect to find lots of rice, vegetables, fish, soup, and meat on the plate.
South Africa– South African school meals have natural ingredients such as corn, squash, sweet potatoes, and yams. There’s also rice, soft porridge, and meat that is sprinkled in with the vegetables. A special stew is made called potjiekos (named after a potjie, a three-legged pot), which originated from Dutch settlers. The cook puts vegetables, meat, potatoes, and spices into the pot, which is heated by small amounts of wood and twigs. After cooking, the result is a delectable stew!
Colombia– Colombian school lunch ingredients usually vary from region to region, but can contain rice, potatoes, fruit, beans, meatballs, and vegetables such as corn and avocados. There’s a special vegetarian menu also available, and children from 2 to 5 years old have their food cut and portioned into smaller sizes.
We hope you enjoyed our lunch trip around the world, and perhaps found inspiration to try new foods at your own dinner table!
Check back in later this week for a video of my son and his very FIRST package from Little Passports. You can sign up for one or both of their subscriptions and follow Sam and Sofia on their exciting adventures around the USA and the world. Inspire a love and understanding of the world as your child learns about a geography, history, culture, and language in a fun and memorable way. It’s an awesome way to bring the world into your home, when international travel is not an option.
Hi Erin…this is nice….. food from different places. I love the food picture the one from Colombia it look delicious actually….
Thank you Mallyeeh! Yes, that one does look really good! I would love to be able to give everyone a test taste — maybe that will be the next trend in online marketing — a smell or taste option! That might be a good or bad thing though. LOL. In this case, however, I think it’d be a great thing — all these dishes look delicious! Thanks for commenting, I appreciate it!
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Wow! Did you just share my post? I’m so excited – this is the first time for me! Thank you so much 🙂
Hey Erin,
You made me hungry. The French food picture looks yummy.
In Malaysia my 4 year daughter usually takes rice with veges and meat in school. Sometimes will be noodle or pasta.
LOL Oops, sorry Justin! I should be more strategic about when I post it… Thank you for sharing your daughter’s typical school lunch with us! So much for our interactions revolve around food, I thought this was a fun way to explore the world this week. Thanks for responding! 🙂
Hi Erin,
WOW… I wish this was a round when my son was little … he’s on to bigger and better things like skateboarding! How charming… I bet you kids get really excited about this … I also enjoyed the lunch tour around the world! Very interesting …
Thank you, Lesly! I thought it was pretty neat. I love that I’m able to help make the world a bit smaller for my kids and allow them to have something “tangible” from other countries and cultures. I hope they share an appreciation for diversity and culture as they get older! Ahh… Skateboarding!! My son keeps talking about that now… not sure I’m ready for that and tackle football and all those activities in which they can get hurt!
Some of those kids are eating better than I do LOL. Its a shame that us cheap american’s can’t seem to take care of our kids educational needs better. After all they are the future of our nation.
Hi Erin,
Thanks for sharing this delicious post with us… it’s great to see how kids around the world eat.
For the most part it seems a lot healthier than what the American school system feeds our kids.
You did make me hungry, so I think I will be going out to have one of my favorites…Mediterranean
food. I love food of almost all nationalities and my son has developed the same tastes.
My son actually worked in his High School cafeteria his Junior year making and serving healthy wraps
to his school friends.
Keep feeding us with your interesting posts,
Marc
Oh Erin, you’re making me hungry! This was a great post. So creative, too. I enjoyed getting a glimpse of lunch around the world. 🙂
LOL I think that was the most frequent response to this – making everyone hungry 😉 Maybe I should add a disclaimer next time that you shouldn’t read on an empty stomach! Too funny. Thanks for reading!
Erin, all 4 of these sound yummy. I wish I had had these options when I was in school. I remember vending machines full of soda, pizza, cheesy bread, and plenty of sugars and starches. I’m happy to hear that children in other countries are eating healthy.
They do sound super yummy, don’t they?! Unfortunately, not ALL children in these countries eat so well; some aren’t even able to go to school. That will be the topic for another time. Our school lunches wer not that great, either! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!