When I was in school, 1952-1964, I often ate at the lunchrooms. All the meals were excellent except the Aztec NM school in 1956 which were beyond horrible! Maccaroni every day and kids were puking it right back up, including me. I then talked mom into letting me take lunch.
In some locations I was close to home so ate my lunch there. Mom always made good lunches. What she made might be called junk today (lunch meat sandwiches, milk), not junk to us, but good food.
Fried Boloney and cheese sandwiches with pizza sauce was a hit that my Mom would make.
Tuna fish salad sandwich with mayo, celery and onions also rocked
I had a similar experience in grade school for a few months back in the early sixties. The food was indescribably awful. But I'll try to describe some of it anyway. For instance, I wish I had a little of the ahem "peanut butter" i.e. industrial sludge they used to serve. I still have nightmares. And I'd like to make the school officials who bought this stuff for us kids eat it and all other slop they served at the point of a gun with my finger on the trigger.