The school lunch line offers a wide variety of options for students, some more popular than others. Students at Aliso Niguel High School have their favorites and some improvements they hope to see in the future.
Options from the cafeteria food includes the spicy chicken sandwich, bacon burger, meatball sub, cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, salad, burritos and sandwiches. Certain foods are only available some days of the week, like the meatball subs on Fridays.
Darian Baghaee (9) says,“I would recommend lunch line food because it’s free and pretty good for something free.”
Despite the popularity of the food, not everyone is happy with the choices. The food is more so good for the convenience of having lunch to eat, but they are not always the highest quality. Students need good food to sustain themselves through the long school day.
Rowan Whittle (10) says, “It’s okay but I want more options for food. My least favorite is the fried rice and boneless wings, it’s dry.”
A favorite among students are the sandwich and burger options. Sides and produce include fries, plums, apples, apple slices, oranges and organic soybeans, cucumbers with Tajin and celery with peanut butter. However, the celery and peanut butter is not always available each week.
The green leftover cart is also helpful because students leave the fruits and vegetables that came with their food they don’t want. Students can pick up the leftovers, get their snack and it reduces the amount of waste generated at school.
Angie Donaldson (11) states, “I think it’s pretty good for it being free food. My favorite is the Italian sub. My least favorite is the pizza”.
A majority of students do not have time in the morning to pack lunch or eat breakfast so the convenience of the cafeteria food is helpful. Even if it’s just a bag of apples to get through class, the lunch line food menu provides something suitable for every student.
“If they have the ability to get their own lunch at home, do that.” Donaldson said.
Croissants and pizza sticks are popular among the student body for breakfast. The croissants are filled with cheese and sausage while the pizza sticks have cheese, bits of pepperoni and pizza sauce surrounded by a warm breadstick. Other breakfast options include Cheerios, Chex cereal, yogurt with granola, jalapeno bagels and plain bagels with cream cheese.
The main issue with the lunch line is how long it takes to get food. The lines are especially long at the beginning of lunch, deterring students from getting food. Luckily, the inside and outside lines are open during breakfast and lunch to help the flow of students coming in to get their food.
Cafeteria food may not always be everyone’s favorite, but many students rely on it for their nutrition for the day and it being free food makes it more accessible. Accessibility to food is important for every student to productively get through the school day and put their best efforts forward in their classes.
