If you eat school lunch, or if you observe some of the people who do, you may be familiar with the phenomenon that is referred to as “Second Lunch.” Over the course of this school year, the act of getting a second lunch has begun to intrigue me. Although I do not participate in getting a second lunch, because I usually bring a lunch from home, I have had plenty of exposure to the students who do. For example, William McCarty (Junior) frequents the lunch table where I sit to complain about the price of purchasing lunch a second time, which allegedly costs five dollars (I have not fact-checked this information). I also often see people entering back into the cafeteria around 12:45 pm and leaving with another lunch in hand.

This recent introduction of “Second Lunch” brought me to wish to explore and explain its existence, which I did by sending out a survey to the AMHS student body. The survey, which ended up getting over one hundred responses, consisted of four questions designed to report the frequency, reasoning, and other details behind students’ second lunches. The results of these questions can be found below.

Question #1: Do you ever get a second lunch?

Out of all of the students who responded to the survey, around 51% or 55 students reported that they participated in getting a second lunch. On the other hand, 49% or 53 students did not.

Question #2: How many times a week do you get a second lunch?

Out of the students who responded yes to the first question, 16 of them tend to get a second lunch three times a week. This is followed by two times, one time, four times, and lastly, five times. According to this data, the majority of students who get a second lunch do so two or three times each week. Also, the least number of students who get a second lunch actually do it all five days of the school week. Both of these trends lead me to believe that whether or not a student gets a second lunch seriously depends on what dish is available that day.

Question #3: Why do you usually get a second lunch?

The majority of students responded to this question with the option “I am still hungry after my first lunch.” This contradicts the prediction I made after viewing the responses to my first question, as I predicted that most students get a second lunch because of a certain dish being on the menu of that day. However, as several students also selected the option “I really like the meal of the day and want seconds” and the option titled “Both,” it is apparent that some students do get a second lunch for that reason. As for the option titled “Other,” the responses entered into the form under that category were deemed irrelevant and unnecessary to discuss.

Question #4: What meal(s) do you usually purchase as a second lunch?

The results of this question came across as somewhat shocking to me. Although it is no mystery that Orange Chicken took the win as the most sought-after second lunch, I was surprised to see Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup at the bottom of the top five. But overall, students definitely made it apparent that there is a wide variety of dishes that cause them to spin back for seconds. One student even included what dish they would get if they were able to, saying: “I would get a PBJ but my account is in a deficit so I am restricted to just one lunch.” As for this student, I am very sorry and I recommend consulting your parents about adding more money into your account.

Altogether, it is clear that a wide range of AMHS students partake in getting a second lunch for different reasons. However, regardless of whether you get a second lunch, do not get a second lunch, or even bring lunch from home, I hope that you remain well-fed as your brain needs food to keep working hard and growing!