A few decades ago, many U.S. school cafeterias prepared meals from scratch for hundreds of students each day. As years passed, some kitchen staff watched fresh ingredients such as flour and eggs disappear, replaced by boxes of pre-packaged, processed foods.

“We do have a lot of fresh diced cucumber, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, kiwi, and the kids enjoy it,” Verna Wow-Wright, a California-based school nutrition assistant, told The Epoch Times. “But most of our lunches are heat and serve. Very rarely do we have made-by-scratch foods.”

The shift, driven by cost, convenience, and food safety regulations, changed how millions of U.S. children eat at school.

Meanwhile, countries such as Japan, Sweden, and France continue to prioritize fresh, minimally processed meals—an approach that some experts say contributes to lower childhood obesity rates and better long-term health.

As diet-related illnesses among U.S. children rise, could a closer look at global school meal programs offer insights into improving nutrition for U.S. students?

A Comparison of US School Lunches With Other Countries

While lunches in many U.S. schools rely on processed and pre-packaged foods, other nations prioritize fresh, whole food-based meals.

A 2021 JAMA Network Open study found that 67 percent of calories in U.S. children’s diets come from ultra-processed foods. A 2024 article in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior noted that many school lunches still include processed foods despite growing concerns about their effects on children’s health.

Schools updated meal standards in 2012 to match the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, but parents remained unconvinced. Processed foods such as pizza and corn dogs still dominated menus—reformulated just enough to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements. While these meals met nutrient standards on paper, parents saw past the label, calling for changes beyond the bare minimum.

Kraft Heinz recently announced that it will stop offering Lunchables in the National School Lunch Program. It cited low demand and nutritional concerns, including high sodium and toxic lead levels, according to Consumer Reports. This reflects a growing focus on the quality of processed foods in school meals. Countries such as Japan, Sweden, and France serve fresh, minimally processed meals—and some of their children have lower rates of obesity and metabolic disease.

Health Influence on Children

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that U.S. childhood obesity rates have tripled since the 1970s, affecting nearly 20 percent of children and adolescents in 2020.

Scientific research has highlighted the connection between diet and health. A 2024 study in Nutrients found that children eating high levels of ultra-processed foods had increased risks of obesity, insulin resistance, and mood disorders. Additionally, Frontiers in Nutrition reported a correlation between diets high in processed foods and cognitive function in children, including memory, learning, and attention.

New York state school nutrition director Deborah Mackey told The Epoch Times that when her school started incorporating more fresh foods into the lunch program, staff saw higher levels of academic achievement, decreased behavioral problems, and fewer trips to the nurse’s station.

What Other Countries Are Doing Right

In Japan, the school meal program emphasizes fresh, whole ingredients such as rice, fish, vegetables, and soups. Meals are prepared daily, and children are taught the importance of balanced nutrition.

As a result, Japan’s childhood obesity rate is just 3.9 percent, one of the lowest in the world, according to a 2023 JAMA Pediatrics study. Japan’s nationwide school lunch program plays a key role in its low childhood obesity rate. The program offers balanced, made-from-scratch meals with controlled portions and diverse foods. A 2019 study conducted from 2006 to 2015 found that among junior high school boys, a 10 percent increase in school lunch coverage led to a 0.37 percent drop in overweight students and a 0.23 percent drop in obese students.

In Sweden, schools provide free, locally sourced, and nutritionally balanced meals to all students, ensuring access to healthy food regardless of socioeconomic status. Sweden’s school meal program tackles obesity by combining nutritious meals with education on food, health, and physical activity, according to a 2021 survey by the Global Child Nutrition Foundation.

France’s school cafeterias have banned ultra-processed foods and focus on high-quality, fresh ingredients. School meals are designed to teach children healthy eating habits that last a lifetime. Vending machines have been banned in French schools since 2005 to reduce exposure to sugary, processed snacks.

“At lunchtime, our kids will eat grilled chicken breasts and salads,” Sophie Fieuzet, a concerned mother from Toulouse, France, told The Epoch Times. “At the high school, it is a self-serve with choices for a starter, a main course, and a dessert.”

She said many French high schools have a long lunch break—typically 1 1/2 to two hours—and students can either eat at the school cafeteria or leave campus to eat at home or elsewhere.

For French students, lunch is a time to pause, connect, and appreciate good food. The focus is on fresh, seasonal ingredients and mindful eating rather than just filling up quickly.

US Efforts

The United States struggles to provide fresh foods for various reasons, including cost, infrastructure, and food safety regulations.

Low-income communities often struggle with higher costs and limited access to fresh food. Additionally, many U.S. schools lack the supply chain and staff to prepare fresh meals at scale, according to a 2024 study published in The Journal of School Nursing. These challenges were especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Compliance with regulations, such as rules on keeping foods cold, also adds a heavy burden. This can make using fresh, minimally processed ingredients more difficult, according to the 2024 Nutrients study.

Despite these challenges, Department of Agriculture programs such as The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program are helping schools incorporate more locally grown foods into their meals.

“One of the biggest strengths of the U.S. school meal programs is the ongoing shift toward offering more scratch-made meals and incorporating locally sourced ingredients,” Ashley Robbins, a Texas-based registered school dietitian, told The Epoch Times.

“School nutrition professionals are transforming the perception of school cafeteria food by enhancing meal quality and integrating nutrition and culinary education opportunities to promote healthy eating habits among students.”

Change is already underway, with concerned groups and parents pushing for healthier school meals.

Some states and districts are experimenting with fresher meal options despite budget constraints. New York City has implemented Plant-Powered Fridays to introduce more whole foods and plant-based meals while reducing processed options. Many of these meals are made from scratch with fresh ingredients.

Meanwhile, parents are demanding higher-quality food for their children, pressuring schools to make changes. A grassroots movement called the Metabolic Revolution has a petition to urge policymakers to ban ultra-processed foods from school lunches and prioritize whole food options. The recent petition has gained significant traction, reflecting parents’ growing concern over what their children eat at school.

Moms Across America, a concerned parent group, advocates for more transparency and better nutrition in school lunches. In 2022, the group conducted independent lab tests on U.S. school lunches and found concerning levels of pesticides, heavy metals, veterinary drugs, and harmful additives in the food. Their findings highlighted potential health risks for children, including exposure to toxins that could affect brain function, behavior, and overall well-being. The results fueled concerns about the quality of school meals and the need for cleaner, more nutritious options for students.

Christopher Palmer, author of “Brain Energy,” stressed the importance of paying attention to what kids are eating. The Harvard assistant professor of psychiatry testified at a U.S. Senate roundtable in September 2024.

“The chronic disease epidemic is escalating at an alarming rate across Western societies, with our youth bearing a disproportionate burden,” he told the Senate. “When these conditions begin in childhood, their impact is compounded, leading to lifelong health complications and disrupted social, emotional, and cognitive development.”

Serving Positivity, 1 Banana at a Time

Alongside her staff, Wow-Wright writes uplifting messages on fresh bananas for students. Words such as “able” and “inspired” reflect her mission—shared by many school nutrition staff—to transform kids’ eating by introducing healthier, fresher foods.

Today, some school nutrition workers are being the change they wish to see.

“We do more than 60 percent scratch cooking, but no matter how awesome the meals are, if you can’t get the buy-in from parents and kids—and you’re not feeding them—what good is all that?” Mackey said. “We need to get kids involved and interested.”

To get kids excited about fresh foods, Mackey involves youth in menu planning and has implemented a “flavor station” where kids can add herbs and spices to their foods. She has also started an Iron Chef student competition in which kids can show off their culinary creations.

With an appetite for change and a passion for better school meals, getting kids excited about healthy eating could make a nutritious lunch future closer than we think.