American Mom Compares ‘Next-Level’ Kid’s School Lunch in France to USA

0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A Chinese-American mom whose family swapped life in Los Angeles for Nice on the French Riviera has detailed the eye-opening differences in school lunches across the Atlantic.

Marissa Fortson, 40, from California, has vivid memories of the food she was served in the school cafeteria as a child.

“Growing up in the U.S., I remember eating chicken nuggets, pizza, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese,” she told Newsweek .

Those aren’t exactly memories that scream nutrition. While school meals have no doubt evolved since Fortson was a student, concerns remain among American parents about the quality of food being served to their children.

A 2024 study of 1,110 California parents found that fewer than half viewed school lunches positively, with just 36.9 percent describing them as good quality, 39.6 percent saying they were tasty, and 44 percent considering them healthy.

When Fortson, a marketing executive, decided to move with her husband, Andy, and their 5-year-old daughter to Nice, France, last summer after 17 years in Los Angeles, the decision was driven in part by a desire for a more balanced way of life.

“We wanted a slower pace, a healthier lifestyle, and the chance for our daughter to grow up bilingual in a different culture,” Fortson said.

It has been a major adjustment, with challenges including learning French from scratch and securing the necessary visas and residency permits.

“We downsized from a house with a yard and a pool to a two-bedroom apartment two blocks from the beach,” Fortson said. “Thankfully, we’ve been able to find a great little community of friends through immigrant and expat groups, our daughter’s school, and social media, and that’s helped provide a lot of support and guidance through it all.”

It has now been a year since they made the move and, while the family is still adjusting, Fortson is regularly reminded why they took the leap—not least when it comes to the meals her daughter is served at school.

“We’d certainly heard that French school menus were better before we moved. I’d read Bringing Up Bébé —a parenting memoir by American journalist Pamela Druckerman about raising children in Paris—like many other expectant mothers over the past decade,” Fortson said.

“But once our school started sending the weekly menu, it really hit home. Now it’s a fun weekly ritual with my daughter, hearing what she tried and what she liked.”

Her daughter’s school lunches became the focus of one of the videos Fortson shared on her TikTok account, @ourrivieralife. The clip, talking about the "next-level" food options, went viral, racking up 1.2 million views and sparking debate about the differences between French and American school lunches.

“Lunches include three courses: typically a salad, a main course, and then a dessert,” Fortson said. “A typical week at our daughter’s school might include green salad, crudités, tabbouleh, spinach ravioli, chicken curry with rice, salmon pasta, fruit, yogurt, and chocolate mousse. And, of course, there’s always fresh bread.”

Fortson attributes the difference to what she describes as a culture of food education in France, where teaching children about healthy eating is an important part of the school experience.

“Kids get real flavors and real ingredients. They’re encouraged to try everything, and they’re taught to eat with actual silverware and dishes,” Fortson said. “Growing up, I don’t remember a single teacher paying attention to what we ate on our trays.”

Fortson said there is also a concerted effort in France to hold school lunches to a high nutritional standard.

“Not only is there more variety in flavors and cuisines, but there’s also a concerted effort to focus on fresh ingredients, sustainability, and organic foods,” she said.

France takes school meals seriously, with nationally regulated nutritional standards that require balanced, varied menus and encourage regular servings of vegetables, fruit, dairy, fish, and legumes.

Since 2022, the country’s EGAlim law has required school cafeterias to source at least 50 percent sustainable or quality-certified food, including 20 percent organic products, underscoring a strong commitment to fresh, sustainable ingredients.

Lunch is also viewed as an important part of the school day, with many schools providing a 60- to 90-minute break—and sometimes longer—so children have time to eat, socialize, and recharge—something that other U.S. moms and teachers have highlighted in Spain and Italy .

“The lunch hour is sacred in France,” Fortson said.

Fortson still remembers the cafeteria meals of her childhood. She hopes her daughter’s memories will be shaped by fresh bread, balanced meals, and a lifelong appreciation for good food.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Gray R. Thomas

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