Go Ahead....Make My Lunch Trivia Quiz

Answer: Korea

Recently the Republic of South Korea voted to expand their school lunch program to require each student to receive a healthy free lunch as part of their education. The annual expenditure of an estimated 850M USD is a high commitment towards making sure Korean children are able to best perform at school.

Standard fare for the Korean school lunch includes the grain staple of rice and the local favorite of kimchi. Kimchi is essentially fermented mixed with heavily spiced vegetables. Most often kimchi is made from cabbage. The classic method for preparing kimchi is to ferment the cabbage underground in jars during the winter months. School lunches in Korea feature smaller amounts of meat and are normally low in both fat and saturated oils. In addition to the rice and kimchi students will see tofu, calamari, broth based soups as well as seasonal fruit and vegetable combinations.

Answer: Couscous

Couscous is a semolina based pasta that originates from the North Africa and is extremely popular in France. Couscous is made by taking the semolina flour and rolling the dough by hand to form small pellets that are then steamed to create light and fluffy balls of cooked pasta.

Like food in general in the French culture, school lunch is taken seriously. Five course meals that would not be out of place in Parisian cafés are the norm for school children in France. A tasty lunch is used as a teaching tool to educate the children on quality food as well as proper table manners and the elements of good nutrition. Lunches in French schools are longer than in many other countries and can last from one to two hours. French government guidelines state that the lunch served by schools should be posted for parents to view and be low in fat and sodium.

Answer: catsup

Decades after the issue was raised the fact that the US Department of Agriculture proposed guidelines that would have classified ketchup as a vegetable seems like an urban myth. Nonetheless, the controversial and wholly inaccurate attempt to consider the condiment as a vegetable was real. The issue however has more to do with the politics and cost of school lunches than in flawed horticulture.

When Ronald Reagan was elected President of the US in 1980 one of his campaign agendas was to reduce the US federal budget. Since 1946 the US federal government had given money to public schools who provided school lunches that met federal guidelines on health and quality. In 1981 these federal subsidies were reduced by over one billion dollars. The USDA was tasked to come up with rules to permit the local school districts to lower these costs. One series of proposed directives defined what was a fruit or vegetable under the guidelines. In this plan ketchup and pickle relish were reclassified from condiments to vegetables so that schools could essentially cut out a serving of cooked or fresh vegetable from their lunch program. The plan died a very public death and was an embarrassment to the Reagan Administration and the USDA for many years.

Answer: 99%

In Japan approximately 99% of elementary (primary) school students and over 80% of middle or junior-high students receive the midday meal known as kyûshoku (school lunch). A typical school lunch will consist of milk to drink, rice, a protein (normally fish), a pickled salad, fruit and a soup with tofu and vegetables. The food is grown locally and almost never frozen; taste is important as well as good nutrition. In addition to eating Japanese students are expected to take turns serving the food to fellow classmates and to clean up the classroom after the meal.

Answer: Lingonberry

As in many European countries the provision of a free hot school lunch is a mandatory part of a Swedish education. Most schools offer food in the buffet or smörgåsbord style and students can pick and chose from a variety of daily offerings. Soda and soft drinks are not served and water, milk or lingonberry juice is usually offered.

Lingonberries are a staple of the Swedish countryside that are found in evergreen shrubs throughout the country. The lingonberry itself is a small juicy tart tasting red berry; and is in the same family as the more well known cranberry. The lingonberry is both a traditional and healthy alternative to soft drinks being a high source of organic acids, vitamin C, beta carotene, B vitamins as well as minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus. As with the cranberries, lingonberries are high in phytochemical flavonoids that have benefits in reducing urinary-tract infections.

Answer: Pizza

Students in the US that are served school lunches see far more frequent servings of hamburgers, sausage based foods and pizza than would otherwise be advised by nutritionists. Coupled with the easy availability of vending machines that sell sugar laced drinks and high fat content snacks the overall obesity level amongst US school age children has climbed by almost 300% since 1980.

While the US has the National School Lunch Program provides funds to support over 31 million students a day with a school lunch, the nutritional quality of the food remains a volatile issue.

There are studies that indicate that the children who eat school lunches in the US are actually more likely to become obese then their sack lunch compatriots.

Answer: Split pea soup

Each of the named soups is a flavorful vegetable based soup where cock-a-leekie is a Scottish potato and leek soup; minestrone a mixed vegetable soup from Italy and gazpacho a cold tomato and bread based soup from Portugal. Hernekeitto is the Finnish soup that is made from the split garden pea. In Finland (and Scandinavia in general) the hernekeitto was traditionally served on Thursday with sliced pork. It is believed the Thursday tradition was an early Christian practice of eating a hearty meal in preparation for the fasting that occurred on Friday.

In Finnish public schools the school meal has been a part of the education system since 1948 and following the other regional countries is served buffet style with salad, vegetables and soups forming the majority of the meal.

Answer: Vegemite

Vegemite is a yeast extract spread sold in Australia. Vegemite is made from leftover brewers' yeast extract that is a by-product of beer and grain spirit manufacture mixed with vegetable and spice additives. Vegemite is a dark red-black color and is one of the richest sources known of Vitamin B; but is also very salty in taste and high in sodium content. The product is sold as a thick spread similar in texture to peanut butter. Like peanut butter and jelly to an American or Canadian child, the Vegemite and cheese sandwich is a staple of the Australian child's school lunch.

Contrary to popular belief, Vegemite is a brand name for a particular type of brewers yeast spread. In the UK and New Zealand Marmite brand yeast spread is more popular. Marmite is said to have a slightly milder and sweeter flavor when compared to Vegemite. Neither spread has made much of a sales dent outside the British commonwealth. That is good news for Australian school children as that leaves all the more for their lunch sack.

Answer: Corn and Beans

Githeri is a simple but nutritious stew that was originated by the Kikuyu tribe. While the Kikuyu people ranged through out much of East and Central Africa the tribe is most concentrated in Kenya and is the largest ethnic group in the country. The plentiful variety of beans coupled with the natural sweetness of the maize (corn) made githeri a protein rich and inexpensive meal that has become highly popular throughout Kenya.

Like many African nations the population of Kenya struggles with low income, drought and malnutrition. The Kenyan government allocates significant resources to provide a school meal for its students but without the support of international charities many of the nation's children would not have a lunch available for them in school. The largest food aid program, the United Nations World Food Programme, feeds approximately 770,000 children a day. Most of the meals served by the UNWFP are the high protein and carbohydrate filling githeri stew.

Answer: Canada

Despite a history of progressive health and welfare programs Canada does not have a national program to provide meals to its school children. The tradition in Canada is quite the opposite in fact, as few schools provide a canteen or cafeteria to sell or provide school meals. Children are expected to bring food from home.

There are some funds available at the provincial level to support low income based families. As such, packaged foods and sandwiches are amongst the most popular daily offerings.

There remains a strong movement (though with limited financial support) to provide national school meals as a means to reduce the use of nutritionally limited vending machines and drive lower childhood obesity rates. Efforts such as the 2010 initiative called "Curbing Childhood Obesity: A Federal-Provincial-Territorial Framework for Action to Promote Healthy Weights" are a good start to turn the tide.