For generations of kids, the best part of the school day happened in the cafeteria, with a tray in one hand and a carton of milk in the other. These 30 photos, from the 1920s to the 1980s, show the lunch lines, milk cartons and menus so many of us remember.
Waiting in the Lunch Line
Children in plaid skirts, cardigans and two-tone oxfords wait their turn at the serving counter while a teacher in a suit keeps watch. One boy at the front carefully holds his plate with both hands.
The Lunch Lady Behind the Counter
In this photo stamped February 1964, a cafeteria worker hands a plate across the counter as a line of teenagers slides by. A tall squeeze bottle stands on the rail in front of her, ready for anyone who wanted ketchup.
The Cafeteria Crew in Matching Smocks
Nine cafeteria workers line up for a group photo in identical light blue smocks, with stacks of metal pitchers and bowls on the counter behind them. A few children's heads are just visible at the bottom edge.
A Uniform Starched and Spotless
A cafeteria worker at Worthington High School in Ohio leans over the counter in a crisp white uniform and cap. A metal cart stacked with wrapped sandwiches stands beside her in the small kitchen.
Students Who Helped in the Kitchen
At Armstrong Technical High School in Washington, D.C., students in aprons and headbands helped prepare lunch in 1942. A row of small bowls waits on the steel table, under a rack of hanging pots.
Lunch With the Windows Wide Open
Some students wear heavy coats at the table in this lunchroom, and there is a reason. It was a fresh-air school, where windows stayed open even in winter for children believed to be at risk of tuberculosis.
Shirley Temple Likes Milk
Two hand-lettered signs hang above this 1936 lunch table, one reading "Shirley Temple likes milk" and the other "Smile and be happy." The children below bow their heads over bowls of soup, mugs of milk and a basket of apples.
Grace Before the Soup
A little girl with a big white bow folds her hands and closes her eyes before eating. In front of her sit a bowl of soup, an apple, a wrapped sandwich and a bottle of milk with a straw in it.
A Straw in the Milk Carton
Two kindergartners at the Lincoln School in New York share a morning snack in 1942. The girl drinks from a small milk carton through a straw while the boy beside her looks off to the side.
One-Third of a Quart
This Eastern milk carton is printed with "contents one-third quart" across the top. A round cap sits in the lid, and a cartoon on the side urges families to "Drink Eastern Milk at Home Too."
Bend Back This Edge
A red Guilford Dairy carton gives its instructions right on the flap: "Bend back this edge." Beneath a drawing of a tall drink of milk sits the line "You never outgrow your need for milk."
The Coveted Chocolate Milk
This Ideal carton of chocolate milk has a curly script logo, an arrow pointing to the spout and the words "one half pint liquid" printed on the side. For many kids, chocolate was the first choice in the milk cooler.
Stools at the Milk Bar
At the Children's Colony school in New York, children sat on wooden stools at a counter labeled "Milk Bar" in 1942. Small American flags, Pepsi-Cola signs and a striped awning decorate the wall above them.
Long Benches and Oilcloth Tables
Children in overalls and work shirts eat a hot lunch at long tables covered in patterned oilcloth, in a log-beamed room in Peñasco, New Mexico. A cook in a white cap stands among them, and the food came mostly from a federal surplus program.
Trays, Napkins and Soda Bottles
High school students crowd a long table at Armstrong Technical High School in 1942. Trays, crumpled napkins and soda bottles cover the table, and several kids turn to smile at the camera.
The Bright Red Divided Tray
This red plastic tray has a big middle section for the main dish, smaller squares for the sides and a long slot at the bottom for silverware. Every school seemed to have stacks of them in one bright color.
Speckled Melamine Trays
These green trays are made of melamine with flecks of red and cream mixed in, a style that was popular in cafeterias for decades. The round section held a cup or a bowl of soup.
A Mint Green Tray With Room for Everything
This mint green tray comes with six compartments, including a round one for a cup and a narrow one for a fork and spoon. A small price sticker is still attached to the top corner.
The Lunchroom Token
Some schools sold metal tokens instead of tickets. This one, stamped "Lunchroom Token" with a small star, came from Dabney Elementary School in Leesburg, Florida.
The Pink Lunch Ticket
Kids at New London Elementary Schools in Connecticut handed over a small ticket like this one, printed with "Lunch Ticket" in red and a serial number on both ends.
A Strip of Dated Lunch Tickets
This strip of tickets from Akron Public Schools Food Service has a box to check for breakfast or lunch, with each one dated for a school day in June 1986.
The Menu Printed in the Newspaper
On December 9, 1967, The Oregon Journal printed the week's school menus. Barbecued beef on a homemade bun, lasagna, turkey and gravy and macaroni and cheese were all on the list, each day served with milk.
Fish on Fridays
This April 1967 menu from a school PTA newsletter in Bay Shore, New York, served no meat on Fridays, with tuna sandwiches and egg on lettuce instead. A note at the bottom announces there will be no more lunch loans from the office.
Sliding the Tray Down the Rail
Teenagers push their trays along the metal rail of the serving line in this 1963 school photo. According to the archive's notes, the program served about six million cartons of milk a year.
The Crowded High School Cafeteria
Students in jean jackets and flannel shirts fill a large cafeteria lined with long tables and metal chairs. Coats hang over chair backs, and books and bags sit on the tables.
Milk Cartons and a Football Jersey
In this 1974 photo from the senior high school lunchroom in New Ulm, Minnesota, a boy in a number 51 jersey eats with his friends. Half-pint milk cartons sit open on the table in front of them.
Under the Sneeze Guard
Teenage boys with feathered hair and big frames work their way down the lunch line, peering at rolls, salads and desserts under a slanted clear guard. A cafeteria worker reaches across the counter at the far right.
The Cafeteria That Doubled as an Auditorium
In this 1980s cafeteria in Washington, D.C., round tables and chairs fill the floor in front of a stage with dark curtains and two flags. Many schools used the same room for lunch, holiday programs and school plays.
Lunch With Friends and a Bubble
A group of friends crowd around the table with brown bags and milk cartons, and one boy in front blows a big pink bubble. The faded colors and feathered hair point to the 1980s.
The Pepsi Machine in the Corner
High school friends pile together at a lunch table, one of them stretched across the others' laps, while a Pepsi vending machine glows in the background. Purses, notebooks and drink cups cover the table.
