In my country, there’s no US style cafeteria (instead it’s a canteen where it’s up to the student if they want to buy anything) some bring their own lunches (home or leftovers) to school, so why do American kids rely on cafeteria food instead of bringing their own?
I mean, is cafeteria food across American schools that bad? It depends on where one resides or if they attend a public or private school. In my case I went to a private (Catholic) high school and the food there is actually good (& cheap when converted to USD).
it’s really terrible from an adult’s perspective. like frozen food dinners but worse, because it’s only for kids. but kids don’t actually know any better. they will actually look forward to some of it, even though as an adult you wouldn’t be able to enjoy it.
it’s not up to the kid though. it’s up to the parent. in the US both parents work, so if mom is too exhausted from work, you’re going to have to buy food.