--- --- # Here's What School Lunches Around the World Look Like by [Food Wine](https://time.com/author/food-wine/) ## Food Wine Updated: Jan 24, 2024 2:45 PM UTCPublished: Feb 26, 2015 8:08 PM UTC by [Food Wine](https://time.com/author/food-wine/) ## Food Wine Updated: Jan 24, 2024 2:45 PM UTCPublished: Feb 26, 2015 8:08 PM UTC EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published on _Food & Wine_. Since its publication, sweetgreen released the following statement: --- > “” --- In school cafeterias in Italy, children enjoy local fish on a bed of arugula, caprese salad, red grapes and fresh bread. In Korea, lunch includes fish soup, tofu, steamed rice and bell peppers. In the US, though, school cafeterias are serving up frozen chicken nuggets, processed fruit preserved in syrup and cookies. Those are some of the findings illustrated in a recent photo series compiled by sweetgreen, an East Coast salad restaurant chain. According to the company, whose [sweetgreens in Schoo](http://sweetgreen.com/community/)[l](http://sweetgreen.com/community/) program teaches students about nutrition, fitness and sustainable eating habits, 32 million schoolchildren nationwide eat school cafeteria lunch every day and take in more than half their calories at school. That makes the differences in school lunch around the world even more noteworthy. With childhood obesity rates on the rise and recent science establishing a strong link between nutrition and cognitive function, lunchrooms have become the next front in the fight for healthier eating even as loopholes in school lunch regulations still define things like French fries and pizza as vegetables. With those loopholes in mind, here’s a look at what’s on school menus elsewhere. ### U.S.A.  sweetgreen Frozen chicken nuggets, processed fruit preserved in syrup and cookies ### Brazil  sweetgreen Pork with mixed veggies, black beans and rice, salad, bread and baked plantains ### Finland  sweetgreen Pea soup, beet salad, carrot salad, bread and pannakkau (dessert pancake) with fresh berries ### France  sweetgreen Steak, carrots, green beans, cheese and fresh fruit ### Greece  sweetgreen Baked chicken over orzo, stuffed grape leaves, tomato and cucumber salad, fresh oranges, and greek yogurt with pomegranate seeds ### Italy  sweetgreen Local fish on a bed of arugula, pasta with tomato sauce, caprese salad, baguette and some grapes ### South Korea  sweetgreen Fish soup, tofu over rice, kimchi and fresh veggies ### Spain  sweetgreen Sautéed shrimp over brown rice and vegetables, gazpacho, fresh peppers, bread and an orange ### Ukraine  sweetgreen Mashed potatoes with sausage, borscht, cabbage and syrniki (a dessert pancake) _This_ [_article_](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/food/what-school-lunches-around-world-look?xid=PS%5Ftime) _originally appeared on_ [_FWx_](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/)_._ _More from FWx:_ [5 Worst Excuses for Not Eating Gluten](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/secrets/5-worst-excuses-not-eating-gluten?xid=PS%5Ftime) [Diet Fads Show No Evidence of Long Term Benefits](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/secrets/diet-fads-show-no-evidence-long-term-benefits?xid=PS%5Ftime) [7 Ways to Use Avocados that Go Beyond Guacamole](http://www.foodandwine.com/fwx/food/7-ways-use-avocados-go-beyond-guacamole?xid=PS%5Ftime) _Read next:_ [_Hungry Planet: What The World Eats_](http://time.com/8515/hungry-planet-what-the-world-eats/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) Here's What School Lunches Around the World Look Like ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3722357/school-lunches-around-world/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3722357/school-lunches-around-world/"},"headline":"Here's What School Lunches Around the World Look Like","datePublished":"2015-02-26T20:08:59.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-24T14:45:31.000Z","description":"Lunchrooms have become the next front in the fight for healthier eating","url":"https://time.com/3722357/school-lunches-around-world/","keywords":["Living","Food & Drink"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Food Wine","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/food-wine/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3722357/school-lunches-around-world/","name":"Here's What School Lunches Around the World Look Like"}}]}] ```