For perspective: I come from a country where “cafeteria” food at school is good and affordable (most is less than the equivalent of 5-10 USD max and it’s not slop, it’s actual food), but it’s not an obligation for everyone since it’s up to the student if they want to buy something or bring their own lunch.
The “cafeteria” in my school isn’t a typical American one, rather it’s closer to a canteen where they sell food you can purchase from cup noodles, fried stuff, sandwiches, baked goods, etc. also appliances like a kettle or microwave are available in the dining hall for students to heat up left overs if they wanted.
The thing I tend to notice from American schools (according to US movies, there’s bias whether it’s true or false) is that they tend to depict kids always heading for the cafeteria for recess or lunch picking up whats available instead of bringing their own food from home (left overs from dinner), why is that the case?
when I was in school which is when a lot of movies showed stuff like this. Only kids with money bought from the cafeteria or if they qualified for a program. the middle level often brought lunch. actually so did wealthier types. in high school people could work jobs and have money and some spent some of it at the cafeteria. enough that it was pretty busy. I think movies have showed the kids who went in line sometimes sitting down with kids who are brown bagging in some movies.