The cafeteria is the centerpiece of the school, where students line up eager to see the new items being served. For many it’s more than just food, it’s a stress relieving break from their grueling academics and the chance to talk to their friends. For this reason it makes it the students most coveted part of the day. In this new year lunch is after the 3rd block or 1:15 which makes the crave for food ever stronger. Food is a major discussion, while some students love every meal there are some with their loves and hates. Meanwhile, some students skip out and bring their own food from home.
School lunch is a huge controversy. For decades, the food requirement was student enjoyment and taste. After the Michelle Obama change to nutrition to combat obesity, the reviews of school lunch saw a major drop off. The allure of junk food and soda changed to healthy green options and salads. The trade off healthy but less appealing food has seen large decreases in child obesity.
To decide how students really feel we decided to go straight to the consumers and asked classmates to share their thoughts on school lunch.
Favorite Foods
We began with the most obvious question, to find out what keeps students coming back for more.
Q: What’s your favorite item on the lunch menu?
“The Wingssss with the buffalo sauceeeee” — Bennett Bair, 12
Some students named the basics, the pizza, the chicken sandwiches, or the corndogs which are popular due to their reliability. Others claimed they liked to stay healthy with salads, wraps, fresh fruit.
The favorites often depend on the day, although a soggy bun or cold tater tots can really change a meal. Undercooked pizza can really ruin a day.
Least Favorite Meals
Of course, not every meal is a winner. Some items appear on the menu and immediately divide opinion.
Q: What’s your least favorite meal and why?
“The walking taco, because it just not my food palette” — Sophia Easterbrook, 12
Some students frequently complained about the food and its “lack of flavor” or how there was too little food given to fulfill their hunger, while others describe it as overcooked or undercooked all while dreading having to eat it. This contrasts to some school lunch admirers such as senior Henry Lannan who supports every meal, even going back for seconds.
The Wish List
One of our most intriguing questions was what change would students like to make to the menu.
Q: If you could add one thing to the menu, what would it be?
“French fries” — Arnav Chowdaouy, 10
Some requested more variety and diversity, stir frys, pasta or even sushi which would add more international foods to the menu increasing the diversity of options. Other students just wanted simple variety options such as french fries which would be a good comfort food when having to deal with the stresses of a school day. A few atheletes we spoke to even mentioned the possibility of adding higher protein meals to help the body recover and prepare for after school practices. After talking to the students, we realized students aren’t just looking for simple options, but rather food that can offer variety, balance, and comfort.
The Portion Debate
Another frequent point of discussion was portion sizes.
Q: Do you think the portion sizes are fair?
“No, it’s wild that 3rd graders get the same proportions as seniors in highschool” — Will Granata, 11
For some students, portions were just right. But for others, especially athletes or those with bigger appetites, the meals felt too small. A lot of students even admitted to bringing snacks from home to make it through the day. This issue was a pivotal point of complaints from the students and with nutritional restrictions and different needs for different students it becomes difficult to fix. The reality that teenagers have very different needs depending on their activity levels is important to consider when making the portion sizes.
Comparisons to Other Schools
In conversations, a few students compared our cafeteria food to what their friends at other schools get. Some nearby schools such as Porter Gaud offered salad bars or brunch bowls. These comparisons led to both envy and appreciation. While some students wished our cafeteria had more variety, others admitted that despite its flaws, our lunch system is more reliable than some schools where choices are more limited.
Overall Ratings
We then went on to ask the students for their opinions by rating the lunch overall 1-10.
Q: On a scale of 1–10, how would you rate our school lunches?
“5” –Riley Shelly, 12
“3”-Quin Okeefe, 12
“6”-Mathew Semenoff
Ratings ranged from 9s to 3s. The differences often came down to what each student was looking for in their lunch experience. Students who valued affordability tended to rate higher, while those who wanted more variety or larger portion sizes rated lower.
The Bigger Picture
From talking to the students here at Academic Magnet, we learned that school lunch is so much more than just eating the food. It’s where students are able to laugh and take a break from the rigorous course work at Academic Magnet before heading to their fourth period class. Even if the food isn’t perfect, the students still make the most out of building a community in the cafeteria. At the same time, the opinions heard from some students about the portion size could be heard and possibly acted upon. However, improving the school lunch isn’t an easy process. Budgets are tight and adding portion size would not help that, and the cafeteria staff work hard to prepare meals for the hundreds of students eating school lunch across the Bonds-Wilson campus.
Although, some students had positive things to say about the lunch, there were also complaints. Whether it’s increasing portion sizes or adding new options in to spice things up, students would appreciate the changes. School lunch is so important to each student’s day as it is a chance for them to bond with peers and build up the strong Academic Magnet community.
