Childhood Foods

Yeah, unfortunately, the whole campaign was very misguided. The thing about diets is...there is no one "ideal" diet necessarily. The French, for example, eat a very high fat diet and are super healthy. The Japanese eat a very high carb diet, and are ALSO super healthy. Almost like in the end, it comes down to counting calories, physical activity, and getting those necessary nutrients. I worked in schools for a while and I used to cringe at what they would serve kids every day. AND in such tiny portions, especially for middle and high school. Yeah, of course, my parents in the 90s packed sandwiches, pringles, Hostess cakes, etc. but it was always balanced, plus I got a healthy dinner every night, no sodas, and very limited junk food. Once snack foods were gone, they were GONE and you had to wait until the next grocery trip. 

You are indeed right about most school cafeterias in the USA, "fun fact" the wealthy and poor schools are often both served by the same crap companies. Only like say, Sidwell Friends or Waldorf school, or other specialized and/or rich schools serve actual good food. Thanks for sharing your experiences, it's fun to hear about how people did school lunch in different places!~

Today, a lot fewer people subscribe to "fat=evil" diets than in the past, but alas, hasn't made much of a dent in the obesity rate here.