I remember that our small country grade school (1st to 8th) in Indiana had government surplus cheese, powdered eggs, butter and other items that were used to make our daily lunches. I saw it in the store room when I was helping out in the 5th or 6th grade move some big cans of food from the store room to the kitchen area. It was raining outside and a classmate’s mother was one of the two cooks.
We had great food in elementary school. Real cooks that were there before daybreak and made fabulous lunches out of all the government surplus food they received. LOVE the cheese.
Oh Lord. You just reminded me of the most terrible lunch ever. Navy beans, peanut butter crackers, canned kale and apple sauce. Many many decades after elementary school, I still remember that lunch.
Before food stamps you got vouchers that provided a 20 qt box of Powdered Milk, a 5 lb block of cheese and Peanut Butter per month.