This school year a large change has been made to high schooler’s day, due to only having one high school lunch. In past years there have been two high school lunches, but many students would switch lunch to be with friends. Two high school lunches made it difficult for food service staff to keep up with making food and cleaning the lunchroom and also did not allow time for them to have a break between lunches. Although one lunch has had some good contributions there is also a downside.
Many students rely on school lunches due to needing time to pack one or not having the resources to bring lunch from home. Students who bring their lunch from home don’t deal with the long lines or food they dislike but still have the burden of the crowded space and loud environment. Katherine Stay, a student in 11th grade, said “It isn’t terrible but I prefer two lunch periods so there aren’t that many people crowded in one place; I’ve had to stand in line for 20 minutes almost every day and there could be a better variety of foods.” The lines have also been at a record-long length. One lunch has also caused the lunch period to be pushed back, making the wait longer from breakfast to lunch. In addition, due to not having many food options, many students do not have much on their tray to eat. Not having much to eat causes students to still be hungry throughout the day. Some students will bring small snacks or grab something from a la carte. Torin Strecker, another student in 11th grade, stated “Sometimes, they run out of specific foods, but otherwise, they’re coming up with many new food options. The portion sizes could definitely go up, though, especially considering everyone in high school is growing.” Although these are significant downsides, there are a few positives to having one lunch.
One lunch has made the workload easier for the food service staff. The food service staff work hard to make the food as well as keep things sanitary and clean. Eating lunch with friends and not having to worry about familiar people at lunch has been a big plus to one lunch too. “It’s nice to know all my friends are having the same lunch as me,” said Torin Strecker. When there were two high school lunches, many students would change their schedule just to eat with their friends. Having only one lunch has also made it easier for schedule changes, which means students don’t have to worry about being in a lunch with no friends and can take classes they enjoy or challenge them. It has also helped teachers better evenly distribute lunch duty. As a result, teachers are better able to help students as well as do work and eat their lunch.
Having one lunch for high school is a major change from prior years. This big change in the day has made many adjustments in the days of students and staff. Although one lunch has some downsides, there are still positives that go along with it.
