people pointing out portion size, type of cafeteria food

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Ever since I started eating food in the school cafeteria, people have asked why I like to use so much ketchup on my french fries. Now the cafeteria workers make a remark when I use the typical amount I use of dried red pepper on my pizza! Every time! Well a few weeks ago I noticed that they had switched the normal container they were using for a makeshift container: a can with plastic wrap stretched over it, with an opening that was a bit too large. So what did they say the latest time I got my typical amount of dried red pepper? "Well, with this new container you've got, I just can't help it!" And they laughed. Yeah, it's annoying to have what you are eating pointed out. But I think since I made the person who did this laugh, it just didn't seem so awkward.

Another thing. In high school there were people who would inspect their plate in every possible way, and set it aside, unused, if they found the tiniest spot! I never thought our high school cafeteria was unclean. I used to think this was rather peculiar (and picky), although I never said anything.

(One thing I also noticed, and I it may have something to do with a practice of hygiene from their native countries, was that Hispanic students would stop in the middle of the lunch line to rotate all around any apple, orange, or other fruit they picked up, checking it for blemishes. Once I was in a hurry to get through the line, I did point this out to one. Now I feel guilty for my impatience.)

My college cafeteria, on the other hand, does have a cleanliness problem. Last year, their health rating dropped to 84 (below 90 at a restaurant and my parents will not eat there). From my observation, their plates are not always washed well. So now, when I pick up a supposedly clean plate in my college's cafeteria, I can't help but check it to see if it has soap stains, greasy fingerprints, dried food, or any combination of those! Ironic that I am now one for checking plates so scrupulously!

Going back to middle school and high school, there were items on the menu that I really liked the taste of but that nobody else did. I'd hear people say, "Ewww, they're having X today" and I would think "wow, I guess that means I'll get free leftovers!" People would point out to me that I had gotten X, and make fun of me for that.

Taco salad. Everyone in high school loved taco salad, but for me it was an acquired taste. On the days the cafeteria had taco salad, I would stay in the library instead of the cafeteria because going in the cafeteria without food meant I didn't look preoccupied and so was open to taunts.

Does anyone else get annoyed when people comment about the type or portion size of the food you are eating?

I'm lucky to even have time to eat! We're the last class to get down to the cafeteria in B block, so I can't really be too picky. But since the taco salad line is always the shortest, I have to go into that. I am getting very sick of my school's taco salad! Anyway, I'm lucky to even have five to ten minutes to eat. And if I'm late going back to my class, I get detention. And I can't eat the food on the way due to school rules and surveilance cameras. Nowadays, I sneak cookies and cereal into my backpack and eat them when the teachers aren't looking, so I can at least get some nourishment. I'm never going to reach my 100 lb. goal by the end of the year by this rate... Ninety pounds as a senior in high school is a bit small, don't you think?

I think you're worrying too much. People will always make comment about things which are different to normal - that's natural. Be proud of liking your food that way.

Adults generally have much wider tastes than children and teenagers. I don't know whether this is because our taste buds change or simply that the same food gets really boring as we get older! I'm 31 and work in an office - if anyone has an "extreme" lunch of any form (e.g. hot / spicy / smelly / smothered in sauce / simply huge) someone might say something, but it'll be out of interest or even admiration rather than to poke ridicule. It's a chance to talk about foods we like or dislike, or occasions where we've had a really good meal. There are no rules when it comes to personal tastes - everyone likes their food slightly different, I think. I love extra-hot curries and chilies, and pickled onions, and blue cheeses like Stilton. On the other hand I can't cope with eating any form of seafood. That's just the way I am.

One advantage is that, if other kids don't like the way you smother food in sauce, at least they won't steal any of it.

me i never liked school food that much unless it was prepackaged. with the cooked by school stuff it was eiter stale or didn't taste right or hard as a rock. one school had a bad taste to theirs and there was an inside joke whether it was cooked in the kitchen or the boiler room.

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I can't stand most of the food sold in cafeterias--I'm incredibly picky about what I eat--but I usually can't remember to make a lunch before I head for school, so I find myself buying several prepackaged snack items. Unfortunately, I can't get near the tables without suffering sensory issues either, so I eat on the floor by the vending machines.

....Yeah. I hate lunch. Often I skip it altogether and just read in the library.