Students eating lunch in a one-room schoolhouse in Ledyard, November 1940. photo: Jack Delano, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

The food that kids eat at school has changed a lot over time. In March 1896, schools in Bridgeport, Hartford, and Norwich got lunch counters that sold sandwiches, cocoa, and coffee (“Educational Intelligence,” The Journal of Education 43, no. 11 (1896)). A hundred years ago, many students in cities and towns went home for lunch. In rural areas, kids ate lunch at school. Some even made simple meals like soup or stew right in their classrooms!

During World War II, many children did not get enough healthy food. A lot of food went to soldiers overseas. When the war was over, some farmers had too much beef, pork, and milk. In 1946, President Harry Truman signed a law called the National School Lunch Act. The government bought the extra food and sold it to schools at low prices. This helped schools give kids lunches with more protein.

Cafeteria workers make sandwiches at a 1953 school lunch workshop in Storrs. photo: Archives and Special Collections, University of Connecticut Library

Superman lunchbox and thermos, made by Universal in 1954. photo: Lunchbox.com

In the 1950s, schools started offering more types of food. They added cold meals, fresh fruits, and vegetables. One day in 1956, Pinney School in Stafford Springs served tomato soup, meat and pickle sandwiches, and cake. Schools in Andover served baked beans, cabbage salad, apricot bread, and a dessert called raspberry snow (The Hartford Courant, June 4, 1956). Some kids brought food from home in lunch boxes with characters from television and comic books, like Mickey Mouse and Superman.

School lunch served at Robert E. Fitch Senior High School in Groton, April 19, 2010. photo: Ben+Sam via Flickr

In the 1960s and 1970s, fast food like pizza and french fries became more common in schools. The head of Bridgeport’s school lunch program said hamburgers and hot dogs were the most popular meals (The Bridgeport Post, October 18, 1970). In the 1980s, many towns had less money for school lunches. So, schools served inexpensive foods like chicken nuggets and Jell-O. By the 1990s, some schools had fast food chains in their cafeterias. Southington High School served food from Taco Bell ((Meriden) Record-Journal, November 9, 1993). Recently, schools have tried to make lunches healthier while still offering foods kids enjoy.

Bottle, thermos. 2001.3101.08.02.

What’s your favorite meal to eat at school? Now, ask a grown-up what they used to eat at school.

In this October 23, 1974, photo from The Hartford Times, Alberto Ramos, a student at Burns School in Hartford, walks to school carrying two lunch boxes. photo: Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library