For perspective: I come from a country where “cafeteria” food at school is good and affordable (most is less than the equivalent of 5-10 USD max and it’s not slop, it’s actual food), but it’s not an obligation for everyone since it’s up to the student if they want to buy something or bring their own lunch.
The “cafeteria” in my school isn’t a typical American one, rather it’s closer to a canteen where they sell food you can purchase from cup noodles, fried stuff, sandwiches, baked goods, etc. also appliances like a kettle or microwave are available in the dining hall for students to heat up left overs if they wanted.
The thing I tend to notice from American schools (according to US movies, there’s bias whether it’s true or false) is that they tend to depict kids always heading for the cafeteria for recess or lunch picking up whats available instead of bringing their own food from home (left overs from dinner), why is that the case?


Because it’s second rate slop and you’re supposed to be concerned about your child’s health. Maybe if US states spend the tax money on proper teachers instead of corrupt food service contracts your kids might learn to read.
The irony about talking about not being able to read, when apparently you can’t read yourself.
No, their food is actually really good lol. They have open lunch where parents can drop in and eat lunch with their kids. I’ve been there and eaten their lunch. It’s really solid. Whenever possible, things have to be sourced locally and the menu fluctuates seasonally depending on what is available locally. The meat comes from a few different ranchers here in Colorado directly, the veggies come from local farmers, and the milk comes from one local dairy (which we also get delivered directly to our house).
And again, I live in a pretty rich district. The teachers are VERY well paid. The absolute minimum any fresh-out-of-school teacher can make is $63k. And that’s with just a bachelors in your first year teaching. Most of their teachers have a masters or a masters and extra credits, have been there several years, and make closer to $100k or more. With a PhD (which several of the teachers have) they cap out at $140k. Our specific school is pretty small, and we know almost all the teachers personally because we almost all live in the same two neighborhoods. There are several married teacher couples with advanced degrees pulling in close to $300k a year combined, and the teacher parking lot has more BMWs and Mercedes than anything. They’re not struggling.
And my kids consistently test several grades ahead, thank you very much.