These renovations would allow for much more comfortable seating and efficient lunch lines so kids have time and space to eat their meals.
This portion of the project would only require renovation of existing space.
Zooming in on the cafeteria and kitchen, draw your attention to the numbered areas and see an explanation for them below:
This newly renovated space would be large enough to fit fully half the students, would have semi-permanent furniture, and would have seating options for kids who prefer solitary or small-group lunch experiences. The current space is not large enough, so lunch is broken into thirds, making lunch very early for some, and even still kids are spilling into the hallways. Further, because the space is also used for theater and band rehearsals, there is a constant moving of limited furniture options, which requires a great deal of janitorial effort and makes for limited seating options.
There are very few windows in the space. Making this a cafeteria, instead of a cafetorium, allows us to put in large windows to allow outside light in, which is great for student morale.
The opening to the kitchen will be moved to create better flow into the kitchen space, will make it so kids don't have to be in single file, and will make it so there can be multiple ways to check out and pay for food. This solves a major congestion issue and ensures everyone has enough time to eat their food, while allowing the nutrition staff to offer more options.
This will eat into some of the special education office space, but will still leave room for renovated offices and a conference room.
In total, these renovations will go a long way toward addressing what students have identified as their least favorite part of the school day. Students who have easily accessible food options perform better in their school day and require less behavior management.
Here we zoom in on the more-efficient serving area, where you can get an idea for how the coolers will be along the walls and grab-and-go options available. Luckily, the kitchen equipment has been deemed in good working order and there's no need to do expensive things like move the freezers or exhaust hooding.