Elementary School Cafeteria Lunches in the 1960s

I do not have fond memories of school cafeteria lunches — though they were memorable. For a few years, I never bought the school lunch, priced at 35 cents, because the “noon-aide” forced everyone to stay at the table until his/her plate was clean. Kids tried to hide nasty food in their empty milk cartons or sneak it into the trash — only to be caught and forced to sit down, eat it and raise their hand to be excused for recess when finished. Some kids sat there for the entire lunch recess. I remember walking by the cafeteria lunchroom, seeing a lone child sitting there with a plate full of grub with the fierce-looking “noon-aide” hovering nearby.

This was the 1960s. In the suburbs of Southern California.

I recall paper cups of thick, gooey chocolate pudding decorated with hard mini marshmallows — not too tasty. The hamburgers had oatmeal in them — not the bun, the meat. It was more of an oatmeal patty with a little meat. It was served with a thimble-sized paper cup of yellow sauce and two sliced dill pickles.

We ate our cafeteria meals from hard plastic trays using stainless steel utensils. After eating, you raised your hand to be “excused,” and you disposed of the paper goods in the large trash can while the trays and silverware went through the washing window to be recycled via dishwashing. If you were a good kid, you got to go out to recess.

In elementary school, the town newspaper, The Ledger, published the menu for the week. My mom would cut it out and pin it to the bulletin board in our kitchen. I seem to recall choosing one or two days of the week to eat in the “cafe.” I liked mashed potatoes and gravy, so I ate on turkey day. I hated the hamburgers and was sorely disappointed when I arrived, and the school had changed the menu. I had to hide that gross burger in my milk carton.

Fridays were always fish sticks or grilled cheese sandwiches. Why? I think it had something to do with religion — maybe Catholics? They could only eat cheese or fish on Fridays. I was never fond of those fish sticks, but the greasy grilled cheese sandwich was OK. However, if they ran out, you might get stuck with that fish stick and be stuck at the table all lunch period. Better to avoid Fridays completely.

We lined up for our lunch, paid our quarter and a dime, shuffled through the line, watched the lunch lady scoop up the meal of the day,  and quickly found one of the lunch tables in the auditorium. It was a multipurpose room with a stage and long tables that slid out of the walls on either side of the auditorium. When the tables were rolled-up and hidden in the wall (like a hide-a-bed), we had square dancing or assemblies. I hated square dancing.

First posted in June 2013.