In addition to having my birthday off this past Monday, I also took Tuesday off as well. I used the day to get some lab time in at Northern Virginia Community College ahead of my midterm project for Photography I. I pretty much made it a day on campus—lab and study in the AM and early afternoon, class in the evening. While there, I ate lunch in the cafeteria. The selection wasn’t the best but then again, I shouldn’t expect much being that it’s a community college. It kinda reminded me of the school lunches from grade school. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: the grade school lunches.
How I first came across this moment? I was introduced to grade school lunches in the Fall of 1991, when I started at Elyton Elementary School. Having brought my own lunch—specially prepared by Grandma Sallie—in my Transformers lunchbox to class every day during my kindergarten year at Glen Iris the year before, I started 1st grade on the free and reduced meal program.
What it meant to me then? I didn’t really think much of the school lunches in grade school initially. All I knew is that I could choose to have regular milk or chocolate milk every day and that we always had the rectangle pizza on Fridays. The school lunches were fantastic…especially when they had the hamburger macaroni.
What it means to me now? I haven’t had a grade school lunch since I left Wilkerson Middle in 1999. With the culture change as far as what kids of today eat, I’m sure the things I ate wouldn’t appear on any menus. I would actually be surprised if they still had the rectangle pizza. I do miss them though. It served a great purpose and offered me my first real variety in cuisine.
