The Schulspeisung was the hot school lunch in East Germany. Parents paid 55 Pfennig per portion, and the state covered most of the cost. Until 1989, around 85 percent of pupils ate lunch at school. The food was cooked in large central kitchens and school kitchens to fixed recipes, so the same dishes were known from Rostock on the Baltic coast to Suhl in Thuringia: Jägerschnitzel with tomato sauce, Senfeier (eggs in mustard sauce), pudding soup.
History of the Schulspeisung: 1945 to 1990
School meals began in the first winter after the war, in Berlin from November 1945. In 1955 a decree set out the “improved school meal” as a daily hot lunch. From 1966 parents paid 55 Pfennig per portion. The 1975 decree on school and kindergarten meals kept that amount. It laid down what a lunch had to contain and remained in force until the end of the GDR.
What the Schulspeisung cost: lunch money and meal tokens
Pupils and apprentices paid 55 Pfennig per lunch, 2.75 Mark for a five-day school week. Kindergarten lunch cost 35 Pfennig, and teachers paid 75 Pfennig. A pupil’s portion was costed at 1.60 to 1.90 Mark, and the state budget paid the rest. Up to ten percent of children ate free or at a reduced price, mostly those from large families. Lunch money was collected at school, in return for Essenmarken (meal tokens) or a monthly meal card.
Central kitchens and insulated containers: where the food came from
Lunch was cooked in state-owned central kitchens, in the kitchens of factories, state farms and LPG (collective farms), or in the school’s own kitchen. From the central kitchen it arrived in insulated containers with handles, by car or small van. The basis was the 1976 recipe catalogue for school and kindergarten meals, plus food standards for two age groups: grades 1 to 6, and grades 7 to 12 together with apprentices. A quality record noted whether each meal met the standards.
Schulspeisung dishes: Jägerschnitzel, Senfeier and Kochklopse
A constant was the Jägerschnitzel: breaded Jagdwurst (a mild bologna-style sausage) with macaroni or spirelli and a red, slightly sweet tomato sauce. The same sauce went on plain pasta, or with diced sausage as Wurstgulasch. Regular dishes were Senfeier with boiled potatoes, spinach with potatoes and scrambled egg, Kochklopse (meatballs) in caper sauce, chicken fricassee and poached fish with dill sauce. There was also Tote Oma, hot Grützwurst with sauerkraut, and stews of lentils, beans or white cabbage.
Sweet main courses: pudding soup, rice pudding and semolina
On some days lunch was sweet. Puddingsuppe, a thin vanilla or chocolate pudding, came with rusks, Einback (soft sweet rolls) or Buchteln (baked yeast buns), and little of it was left over. Rice pudding came with sugar and cinnamon or with applesauce, semolina pudding with fruit sauce. Potato pancakes also came with applesauce. Often there was a small bowl of stewed fruit on the side.
School milk: whole milk, cocoa and vanilla milk by the quarter liter
School milk went with the Schulspeisung. It was sold at school in quarter-liter portions: whole milk, cocoa and other milk drinks. In 1973 the dairy in Prenzlau first supplied a vanilla milk drink to schools. A quarter liter cost parents around 20 Pfennig, and children from large families got their milk free. It was sold on behalf of HO and Konsum, the state and cooperative retailers, and the school provided the room.
Questions about the East German Schulspeisung
How much did school lunch cost in East Germany?
A lunch cost pupils and apprentices 55 Pfennig, 2.75 Mark a week. In kindergarten it was 35 Pfennig, and teachers paid 75 Pfennig. The state paid the rest.
How many pupils ate school lunch?
Until 1989, around 85 percent of pupils took part in the Schulspeisung, by some estimates up to 90 percent. All kindergarten children received the kindergarten lunch.
What was served at the Schulspeisung?
Typical dishes were Jägerschnitzel with macaroni and tomato sauce, Wurstgulasch with spirelli, Senfeier, Kochklopse, chicken fricassee, spinach with potatoes and egg, Tote Oma and stews. Sweet lunches were pudding soup, rice pudding and semolina.
Was there school lunch during the holidays?
During the school holidays, pupils still got a hot lunch and milk. For children at their town’s summer holiday program, lunch was free.
How much did school milk cost?
A quarter liter of school milk cost around 20 Pfennig. Children from large families got it free.