Emily Brown
A high school student shocked Reddit users with a picture of their school lunch that's been described as 'worse than jail food'.
When you hear stories of school lunches, it seems they can go one of two ways.
People either look back fondly on the days of scoffing pizza and fries to their heart's content, or they still get nightmares about trying to stomach the mysterious slop loaded on to their tray each lunchtime.
Advert
The school lunch pictured in the post by this particular student does at least feature somewhat recognizable food, but that doesn't mean people were left clamoring to eat it.
In their post, the Reddit user showed how the meal consisted of a carton of milk, some fries with ketchup, a bag of carrots and some chicken mac and cheese.
They didn't share exactly where they went to school, but they explained that lunches in their city had recently been made free.
"Ever since lunches have been made free, the quantity (and quality) has decreased significantly. This is what we would get for our meal," they said.
The student claimed they finished the mac and cheese in just three bites, and that students had to pay for anything else they wanted to eat.
"Any snacks you want cost more money and if you want an extra entree, that’ll cost you about $3 or $4," they said.
Reddit users were left shocked by the sight, with one claiming the mac and cheese 'looks like a child's school project gone wrong'.
"Literally looks like glue," they added.
Another said the meal 'looks worse [than] jail food', while another wrote: "That made me gag… [what the hell] that is not Mac n cheese."
Some viewers also honed in on the lack of variety in the meal, as one posted: "Do you want some carbs with your carbs?"
"This looks like too many calories and too little nutrients," wrote another.
The sight of the meal prompted Reddit users from all over the world to get involved in the conversation.
"I lived and went to high school in France for 3 months for an exchange. Everyday you'd have a hot lunch typically a protein, pasta ect. Plus a fruit, yogurt, personal baguette and something like jello, custard or something else small and sweet," one person wrote. "It was literally like going to an average restaurant everyday."
Another Reddit user from Sweden claimed their lunches had been like an 'all you can eat buffet' with food that was 'always pretty decent and healthy'.
"I feel sorry for the rest of the world who get this 'lunch'," they added.