Pictures of students’ gross school lunches, tagged with #thanksMichelleObama,  trended across social media this week as teenagers complained about new, healthier foods that replaced former favorites. Photos of nasty, hash-like fruit-and-protein casseroles, and single hot dogs served with one cherry tomato and ketchup went viral, thanks to the prevalence of smart phones and an abundance of educated sarcasm.
One commentary in social media began this way: “Teens, cafeteria food has always been bad. You just have better camera phones.”

I whole-heartedly agreed with this assessment. My parents moved me to the Mexican border when I was in the fourth grade. I went from lunches of hamburgers or macaroni in the north to lunches of enchiladas and fideo.

This was in 1981. No one north of Lubbock knew what an enchilada was, or could pronounce the word. And, what’s fideo? Mexican noodles. To me, they looked like the worms my babysitter’s dog had barfed on me once. I never tasted fideo. Ever. And, I still won’t.

But those enchiladas that appeared on my rectangular school lunch plate? They were reddish brown. They were mashed up — something. Years later, I learned that the mashed stuff was tortillas! Really, the tiny bits of soggy, crushed saucy reddish-brown pieces of yuck were tortillas! There was supposed to be some ground meat in the goo, too, but it was indistinguishable.

The kids ate it up and went back for seconds! Even my little sister, only a kindergartener, ate it. Looking back, I realize now that 95 percent of the students in my district were on free lunches, and they were eating a warm meal, God bless them.

The population was also 95 percent Hispanic, and they were accustomed to eating enchiladas at home, although I hope the food they had at home tasted and looked better. And, my sister? Well, she was young enough to eat what she was given.

I tried to find a picture of those old-school enchiladas, but school meals have changed. The messy slop kids are crying over now looks downright appealing compared to the putrid foreign substance I remember letting little Javier scrape from my plate to his.

“You sure? You don’t want it?”

“Take it!”

Brown-bagging it wasn’t going to happen. That was distinctly uncool. If you brought your lunch, you might as well have kissed any possible friendships goodbye for the next five years. Well, maybe not, but you know how kids are.

I lived on rolls, milk, and cafeteria cookies until I got to high school. We could buy beef brisket at the school’s food-service-training concession stand if we wanted to avoid the cafeteria.

Sometimes, Skittles and Coke were an easier option, though. A regular crowd of kids would walk next door to this tiny Mexican restaurant and eat paper boats full of much-improved enchiladas or greasy flautas. The grease was glorious!

But, a few kids didn’t make it through the next class period without taking a break down the hallway. Skittles and Coke were still fine choices, along with large pickles sprinkled with popcorn, and potato-chip bags doused with Tabasco sauce.

And, brown-bagging it wasn’t too obvious if you ate while walking between buildings or sitting in the football stands. Teenagers are hungry, so the stigma had diminished, too.

By the time I could drive, that walking crowd had learned to carpool to Whataburger or Little Caesar’s, or to leave school mid-day; some of us had enough credits to go to school only half-days, and others headed to vocational training or jobs in the afternoon. We had survived school lunches!

Today’s teenagers will, too, especially if they actually eat something. Here’s a hint for them: Try the apples. They’re pretty good. Lots of fiber and carbohydrates. And, for variety’s sake, sneak in some Skittles.