Chew on This: Student Opinions on the New School Lunch

Written by Maeve Callinan

November 2023

An hour-long midday break provides many opportunities for the average stressed Biotech student to relax, including chatting with friends, playing games outside, and participating in their favorite clubs. Yet, what really elevates this break is the accompaniment of delicious food. A large portion of the student body opts to buy lunch from the cafeteria for a variety of reasons, so what do their choices look like? Over my three years here at Biotech, the answer to that question has undergone significant changes, transitioning from free government-funded lunches (due to COVID), then meals priced at $3.00 but with substandard quality, and finally, to $5.00 and delicious food that has been a hit with students. To most of them, this price increase seemingly reflects the increased food quality.

// The new food service company has given the kitchen much more traffic.

This year, the school has introduced a new food service company. With this new company has come more variety, fresher meals, and longer lines. Some of these new meals include breakfast days with savory sausages and sweet French toast sticks, seasoned taco dishes with vegetable sides, Asian fried rice, fried chicken, and a large array of Italian pasta dishes. Moreover, the cafeteria food has improved in flavor and the ingredients are reportedly higher quality. Purchasing snacks is also an option, and among them, the cookies stand out by far as one of the most highly praised items. The cafeteria bakes about 96 cookies a day and these almost always sell out. According to the cafeteria staff, this number will be increased to 120 in the weeks to come due to the high demand. These cookies are a great deal for how much they are loved, selling at $1.00 for 2, with the option of chocolate chip, double chocolate chip, or sugar cookie.

But do students believe that the food is worth the higher price? Many say no. Junior Eve Broydo acknowledges the improvement of the food quality, but argues that it is not enough to warrant a cost of $5.00. According to Eve, a price between $3.50 and $4.00 would better align with the value of the food. Other surveyed students tended to have similar opinions on this matter. In spite of these beliefs, numerous students continue to buy lunch and the line is consistently out the door, as it likely will be for the foreseeable future. ❧