Fish soup with tofu and rice, stir-fried pork with vegetables and baked chicken with stuffed grape leaves… these are just some of the exotic lunches school children from around the world tuck into.
The widely different meals from Spain, Ukraine, Greece, South Korea, Brazil, France, Finland and Italy are all fresh and wholesome, with fish, steak and vegetables featuring prominently.
But in stark contrast, the UK and US lunch trays feature processed foods such as popcorn chicken, frankfurters, cookies, and beans from a tin.
What children in other countries eat (clockwise from top left): Ukraine’s version of sausage and mash; Brazil’s plantains, rice and black beans; beetroot salad and pea soup in Finland and steak with beans and carrots in France
Unhealthy meal: Children in the US get fed popcorn chicken with ketchup, a spoonful of mashed potato, green peas, a fruit cup and a giant chocolate chip cookie for lunch
South Indian school children eat off a thali plate which has white rice, sambar (dhal), smoked gourd vegetable stir-fry, curd, buttermilk and kesari, a type of sweet dessert made from semolina
Lunch in an Estonian school is rice with a piece of meat and purple cabbage. They also have bread and a get a cup of chocolate drink
UK school dinner of frankfurters and beans, a baked potato, corn on the cob, slice of melon and a box drink
‘The Cuban food looked a little devoid of vegetables. Greece and Spain also looked good – although Spain could have had more vegetables.’
Balanced diet: Italian children get pasta, fish, two kinds of salad, rocket and caprese, a bread roll and grapes
In Finland lunch is mainly a vegetarian affair of pea soup, carrots, beetroot salad, crusty roll and sweet pancake with berries to finish
School lunch in Alba, Spain (left): white flesh peaches, strawberries and yogurt melts, cous-cous, broccoli, cucumbers and roasted salmon; (right): Poached apple pears, strawberries and blue berries, boiled swede and fresh garden peas
South Korean children tuck into broccoli and peppers, fried rice with tofu, fermented cabbage and fish soup
Brie, green beans, carrot, rare steak and pudding of kiwi fruit and apples is served in French schools
A meal of traditional flavours: Brazil’s rice and black beans, baked plantain, pork with peppers and coriander, green salad and a seeded roll
The South Korean lunch is equally as impressive.
A milky fish soup to start followed by a serving of stir fried rice with tofu, broccoli and peppers. On the side is kimchi, the traditional Korean condiment of fermented cabbage.
In Scandinavia, Finnish schools dish up a vegetarian lunch of pea soup, beetroot salad, carrots and a roll. For pudding there is pannakkau, a sweet pancake served with strawberries and blueberries.
Rice, a chicken croquette, a piece of taro root and yellow pea soup is the school lunch in Old Havana, Cuba
In Japan, school children tuck into fried fish, dried seaweed, tomatoes, miso soup with potatoes, rice (in the metal container), and milk
A plump portion of lightly fried fish sits atop rocket salad in the Italian lunch tray. This is accompanied by a small portion of pasta, a simple caprese salad of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, a crusy roll and a bunch of grapes.
Most of the schools have kept to traditional foods for the school lunch.
Children in Spain start their meal with cold tomato soup, gazpacho, served with shrimp and brown rice. This is served with a seeded roll, peppers with red cabbage and half an orange for dessert.
Children in Greece have baked chicken with orzo, stuffed grape leave, cucumber and tomato salad, yoghurt with pomegranate seeds and oranges.
Wholesome: Seeded roll, shrimp with brown rice, gazpacho and tri-colour peppers. Dessert is half an orange
A serving of borscht (beetroot soup) with pickled cabbage, sausages and mash. Dessert is a sweet pancake
Greek school lunches feature baked chicken with orzo, stuffed grape leaves, salad of cucumber and tomatoes, yogurt with pomegranate seeds and two oranges
Traditional South American food such as rice with black beans, baked plantains and pork with vegetables are on offer for Brazilian children. They also had a side serving of salad and bread with their meal.
In Ukraine children feast on mashed potato, sausages, borscht, cabbage and syrniki, a type of dessert pancake.
US school lunches feature fried popcorn chicken with ketchup, mashed potatoes, peas, a fruit cup and a chocolate chip cookie.
Bowls of salad are ready to be served at Delcare Edu Center, a local kindergarten and child care center in the business district of Singapore
A healthier UK school dinner: Two trays at a primary school in London. The meal at right consists of pasta with broccoli and slices of bread, and fruit. At left are vegetable chili with rice and broccoli, sponge cake with custard, and a banana
In France, school lunch is an art form: hot, multi-course and involving vegetables. A meal of rice, salmon, ratatouille, a slice of bread, a salad with celery and carrots, and an orange and donut at the Anne Franck school in Lambersart, northern France
