Many students complain about the meals the school provides, but are they exaggerating, or are they telling the truth?
By Willow Ginsburg
School lunches have been a topic of discussion and debate for years. Many students express dissatisfaction with the meals provided, citing issues ranging from its taste and variety of foods to nutritional concerns.
School lunch programs are subject to strict nutritional guidelines, ensuring that meals provide essential nutrients needed, however, many students believe that they aren’t getting the nutrients they need from the school meals at Timber Creek High School, and are even being put at risk for unhealthy meals and health issues. “It has high amounts of sodium, high amounts of sugar. I’ve seen 29 grams of sugar in a single carton of milk,” said Ema Vega, a freshman at Timber Creek. “This puts students at a predisposition to have diabetes and other conditions.”
Another big complaint about the meals is the taste or availability of specific food items. Many students say that the food is too bland and needs more seasoning, or complain about having the same food over and over again and not having enough options, but Nomvula Charlot, one of the lunch ladies at Timber Creek, has a different opinion. “The food isn’t bland, it’s seasoned…It just depends on what you like and somebody’s diet. If you like kiwi’s, we don’t have kiwi’s, we have apples and if you like berries, we have oranges.”
Students’ individual preferences can skew their perception of the school’s provided meals as well. Their background or diets can cause the school meals to not meet their standards or expectations depending on where they come from or what they usually eat. A student who likes spicy foods may feel unsatisfied with the amount of spice in their food, but at the same time, a student who doesn’t prefer a large amount of spice may be pleased with the same food because it is just right for them, and this causes problems for the school in making everybody satisfied in the foods they provide, especially which foods are offered.
“I like the school food, but they just need more. I don’t like having the same thing every week,” Benjamin Ginsburg, a freshman, said about the variety of options. Having the same foods over and over again can not only cause you to get bored of it eventually and crave something new, but it can also be bad for your health. However, this complaint is reliant on several factors, such as budget and also preference. Charlot explains that, “Each and every summer they get students to come and try food, so that’s what you guys have every day and they are picked, picked by you, by other students.” With students trying the food and picking which meals are good, it shows that there is some outside opinion, and that the school is thinking about what students like by having students vote on what stays and which meals should be put out, even if some students don’t feel like there are enough options.
Students also complain about the quality of their food. “I found fruit flies in my orange once, and the fruit they give out at school is also sometimes rotten or may contain mold,” Vega said, explaining the conditions of the fruit. This may be because the food is bought considering low cost over the quality to make sure they have enough food for every student, and the food may go bad before it has been eaten.
With all the school budget, student preference, and more in mind, are students right to complain about the school meals, or are they exaggerating it out of proportion?
Fit for a King. At Timber Creek’s cafeteria, the cafeteria workers prepare nutritional meals before lunch, making sure everything is in the correct place before students come flooding in. “That is exactly what they [are] doing. It comes from FNS so that makes sure the nutrition and diet is balanced,” explains Nomvula Charlot about the meals. Photo by Willow Ginsburg.