Color me weird, but I loved looking at the cafeteria calendar and I’d look forward to certain days. I generally liked cafeteria food, probably because my mom was into a strict health food thing and eating anything remotely fun (like what other kids got for lunch) was a super rare treat. Like, I knew school lunch wasn’t high-brow in any sense, and just enjoyed it for what it was.

I still think about the weird hamburger patties, which had a uniquely distinct taste and texture, across all my schools. I always wonder what was in them, as they faded out in the late 80s/early 90s and don’t seem to be used anymore. I haven’t had a patty like that since graduating middle school.