Lunchtime Politics II: School Cafeteria Hell

I was just reading through some of the “school lunches” tags on SUF (such as this one), I started thinking about my own past with lunch.

So, I’ll admit it – I used to eat Lunchables as a kid, when they first came out and even for a few years after.  I remember them being a special treat (they were like $3 or $4 which is a lot more than a loaf of bread, some bologna, and some mustard which would last over a week).  I don’t think there was much thought to them being high in sodium by parents, hell – I think everything in 1988 was high in sodium.  But I do remember thinking, as a kid, it was finally *not* embarrassing to open my lunchbox.  I had something fancy in there. 

I wonder what the kids think is fancy now?  By 5th grade it was not cool to bring your lunch, it was what the “nerds” (read: poor kids) did.  I would beg to get the cafeteria food, and sometimes the $2 charge a day wasn’t ok.  I wonder if now eating the “school lunch” is embarrassing, when the prettiest/richest/most popular kids are bringing pan-seared tuna with greens and an organic juice box.  I mean, we are essentially taught that food is based on class from our earliest days.

How depressing.