School Lunches Around the World Gallery

The sustainable food crowd loves Italy, and with good reason. The majority of Italian schools serve lunches made from organic ingredients, mostly grown nearby. The daily meal at la mensa della scuola—the school canteen—is usually centered around pasta or risotto, with salad served as a separate course. Meat shows up on the menu only a couple times a week, and in small portions. But it's not all about nutritionally correct eating for Italian children; merendine, aka snacks, are big parts of most children's days. Bread spread with chocolatey Nutella is a classic between-meal sweet and Italy's kids are almost as addicted to packaged candies and cakes as their American counterparts. Italy actually has a higher proportion of overweight children than the U.S.