FRESH, healthy and full of nutrition – school dinners in 2024.

Packaged, processed and full of nostalgia – school dinners in the 1970s and 1980s!

Things have changed when it comes to eating at school.

This week is national school meals week – a whole week dedicated to the canteen food on offer to children at lunchtimes across the UK.

Gone are the days of turkey twizzlers and lumpy mash followed by sponge pudding and custard every day.

Sometimes the custard was pink and tasted of strawberry or it was green and tasted of mint!

Youngsters can now enjoy tasty and nutritious meals that are prepared fresh each day with mouth-watering options like chicken korma, spaghetti bolognaise and roast dinner on the menu.

READ MORE:

Mid Cheshire children get ready to celebrate national school meals week

The menus run on a three-week cycle and there is always freshly baked bread, seasonal vegetables and salad followed by fresh fruit and organic yogurt available.

They’re a real hit with hungry children taking a break from the classroom with youngsters in Early Years and Key Stage One entitled to free school meals every day.

But what were school dinners like in days gone by? What do you remember about midday meals when you were growing up?
We asked and you told us.

Here are some of the meals – good and bad - that you remember from your childhood:

Julia Mara Chocolate crunch and chocolate sauce. Iced sponge with hundreds and thousands and pink custard. Cornflake tart and custard

Rachel Louise Old school sponge and pink custard

Nick Skinner There was one specific dinner lady who had a secret recipe for chocolate crunch's that nobody else could imitate. Hartford high in the early 2000s. I'm a chef and I still crave that chocolate crunch

Lorraine Gibbs Queen of pudding and date shortcake

Liz Last Cheese pie, mash and beans

Danny Bland The warm chocolate sponge. Never had anything like it since - absolutely amazing.

Carole Taylor Chocolate crunch

Kieran Walenta I had a free dinner pass and by the time I got the till I'd eaten the fishcake and half the double chips were in my pocket

Patricia Brown Chocolate pudding with chocolate sauce

Mo Moston The cheese pie was fabulous and I always had seconds if I could

Geraldine Dudley Must be cheese pie for me

Martin Kilgallen School mash and the gravy

Mandy Grant Hedgehogs in mint custard grass

Vivien Bridgewood Mince and onion pie. Angel whip and sponge and custard

Gareth Williams I remember being given prunes and custard. It looked awful and I couldn't touch it. Then a friend told me to just ask for custard on its own. I did that every day for years!

Michelle Martin Manchester tart