LETTERS : School Lunches: A’s, Fs but No Cs

I would like to thank The Times for “How to Feed 700,000” (Aug. 25). Clearly Emily Green researched the topic in depth. She presented an accurate and fair representation of both the National School Lunch Program and the L.A. Unified School District Nutrition Program. As a parent of two children in the public schools, I appreciate the work done by people like Laura Chinnock and Danny Jensen. Today’s students are very lucky to have so many appetizing and nutritious lunch choices in the school cafeteria.

JAN MONFORTE

Fullerton

Have you ever eaten school cafeteria food at the high school level? One of my hobbies is cooking, and I will tell you frankly that there is almost nothing edible at our high school cafeteria. I have eaten in cafeterias of other LAUSD high schools and though ours is surely the worst, their food was also barely edible.

LILY ESTELLA

Topanga

I work with a performing arts group that plays school assemblies all over L.A. County. For the past four years I have had the chance to see the food served at LAUSD school cafeterias and have eaten at many. The food at L.A. public schools is crap. There’s no other word for it. I almost called the board of health several times because the vegetables were literally rotten, but I didn’t want to jeopardize my group’s employment. At best, school food is starchy, processed and loaded with sugar. Your reporter did a great disservice to your readers by implying that the food at public schools is in any way healthy or nutritious. I repeat: It is crap.

PAUL LACQUES

Echo Park

“A Munch Down Memory Lane” (Aug. 25) took me back a long way to both pleasant and unpleasant memories. I recall sixth grade at Gardner Street Elementary School, 1950-51. Pork and beans, a main dish, appeared weekly in the school cafeteria. I detested it, but the teacher on duty always required us to eat every morsel before she excused us to go to the playground. From Gardner Street I progressed to Bancroft Junior High School. The food there must have been acceptable, because I don’t remember it at all. The next gastronomic stop was Hollywood High School, which, in contrast, served up one outstanding weekly special--its famous enchiladas. These were not the gringo style all smothered in sauce and cheese. They were of the drier, authentic south-of-the-border variety, and they tasted wonderful. I haven’t tasted one since June of 1957, and 42 years later I still salivate at the memory.

SUSAN KLENNER

Woodland Hills

I was intrigued by the nostalgic front page photo illustration “Lunch at the 54th Street School, 1952.” It would be interesting to send one of your photographers to that same location today and take a similar picture.

JOSEPH A. LEA

Anaheim

Practically the only good memories I have of elementary school are of the fabulous freshly cooked lunches. You could smell the stroganoff or spaghetti sauce cooking all morning as you went from class to class. Beverly Hills High School had the world’s most amazing and delicious and calorie-laden sweet rolls/cinnamon buns.

JULIE SPIGELMAN

Agoura Hills

I attended Washington Elementary School in Santa Monica from 1952 to 1958, and our cafeteria was run by two sisters who lived right across the street from the school. I can only remember the name of one of them, Jean, but they cooked up some very tasty dishes including my favorite, “Spring Garden Special.” As I remember, it was a casserole-type dish made up of diced potatoes, green beans, corn and chopped hamburger (probably sirloin at that time) all cooked together in a broth of some kind.

SHARON MAY

Burbank