Do You Munch on the Lunch?
By Andrea Baldeon, Samara Pierre & Yeva Kubiak
At Hillcrest High School, school lunch is served from the 4th to 7th period. Some students eat school lunch while others don't. Some even bring their own lunch. We went around the school and interviewed several students from different grades asking their views on the menu.
While going around Hillcrest High School, we interviewed several students. Karnlina Balchand, an 11th-grade student, stated “Yes, almost every day I eat the school lunch” when we asked “Do you eat the school lunch? And how often do you eat it?” They rated the school lunch a 5.5 on a scale from 1-10. When also asked, “What would you add or change about the menu?” They stated, “More diversity because everything is plain.” Angelica Nino, an 11th grade student, responded similarly to these questions. “I would add more food, something without those fries. I’m tired of them. The chicken nuggets without sauce taste like water.” Lastly, another student who would like to remain anonymous stated, “I would change the quality of the food.”
Another question we asked the students was “What would you want to add?” A student who would like to remain anonymous stated, “I feel like we as students need to have high-quality and nutritional meals.” Having this in mind, according to the Menu Nutrition Information for NYC schools, the lunch served in school is actually pretty nutritional. Chicken tenders, being a favorite in Hillcrest High School, actually have about 100 fewer calories, about 6 fewer grams of fat, about the same grams of saturated fat, 6 fewer grams of protein, about 8 fewer grams of carbohydrates, 1 more gram of fiber, and 428 fewer milligrams of sodium than regular chicken tenders. This is just one of the many food options served at school and just this one option is significantly different from the non-school lunch.
The majority of students interviewed gave similar answers. An example would be that many Hillcrest High School students stated that chicken tenders are their favorite food from the menu. Same thing with how they rated the lunch. On a scale from 1-10, most of the students interviewed rated the school lunch a 4.
After reading about how other students feel about the school lunch, what is your take on it? Do you feel it needs to be improved at all?
A huge thank you to the cafeteria staff for their hard work and dedication to feeding us. We appreciate you all!