By Ethan Huang, staff writer
Students often sigh at the thought of school lunch, with claims that merely the smell of the food makes them puke. Although I would agree that the food has deteriorated some from the quality of where it was when I was in elementary school, the food definitely improved from middle school, where the lunches were at their lowest. Overall I still think school lunches are good. This begs the question, why do students think school lunch is so bad?
I recently asked students who brought lunch from home why they didn’t eat school lunch instead. One student’s, (student A) main reason was that the food lacked nutritional value. Another student (student B) commented that the food was bland.
After hearing that school lunches lack nutritional value, I was curious about what is actually in them, so I took to the official SFUSD school lunch website. After a bit of scrolling, I came across the Nutrition Guidelines & Wellness Policy, which states that the food is developed with the help of “child nutrition experts”, and that school lunch is made with nutrition as top priority. This brought me peace of mind, knowing that the SFUSD continually is striving to make lunch healthier and hopefully tastier.
I do agree though with student B, who said that school lunches are bland, as there have been a number of times I wish the food tasted better, but I don’t believe this is true of all the meals. While some meals, like alfredo and tamales often leave me feeling disappointed, others, like the burritos, Friday’s pizzas, and chicken drumsticks all are tasty, being flavorful and savory, and I genuinely look forward to eating them.
I think what happens with a lot of students is that they don’t give school lunches enough of a chance. They will try it 1-2 times and if it doesn’t taste good, never try it again. However, judging the meals on just 1-2 tries is not enough to really know everything school lunches offer.
I remember in middle school, the school lunch was awful and unenjoyable, but now, as a junior in High School, the food has diversified and tastes much better, so I appreciate SFUSD’s effort in revamping the meals. As I said before, most meals are for sure fulfilling and nutritional; additionally, efforts made by the SFUSD such as varietizing lunch meals, and not charging a single penny, deserve attention and appreciation.
School lunches are hated more than they deserve to be. My opinion, give school lunch a week, through thick and thin, and you’ll definitely have a change of opinion.
