Cafeteria Anxiety

At the end of the second long-block, the question “What am I going to do for lunch?” lingers in most NHS students’ minds. When considering where to eat, Needham High School students share the five most common locations. In no particular order, the list goes as follows: 

The tables in the 200s hallway, the desks and couches in the 450s or 750s, the picnic tables outside the school, or one of the local places to eat outside the high school.

The most agonizing and least popular choice is the cafeteria. 

As a junior, I have noticed that ever since we re-entered the high school as upper-classmen, our class’s use of the cafeteria has substantially declined.

Since sophomore year, we have been blessed with open-campus privileges, which students have happily taken advantage of, especially during lunch blocks. Dozens of students leave the school for the 25- or 30-minute period, going to one of the very popular local cafes and fast-food options—Dunkin’, Cafe Fresh, Starbucks, Subway, just to name a few of the abundance of options we students take advantage of. 

But why go to these places, when the cafeteria is so accessible? 

Many students comment on the stress and agony they feel when entering the cafeteria. An anonymous student remarks, “I don’t always know anyone in my lunch, and then I stand around awkwardly, waiting to find someone to sit with.” This anxiety when in the cafeteria is felt throughout the student body, and it does not help that the people in each lunch change daily. 

When an anonymous group of juniors were asked if they ever feel anxious about eating in the cafeteria due to social reasons, 90% answered “sometimes” or “yes.” 

Some students commented on the struggle that they face when they do not have a group of friends at a particular lunch yet still feel the pressure to not eat alone. One student notes, “Even if I do have lunch with people I could eat with, I don’t necessarily want to eat with them, but I definitely feel like there is a stigma around eating by yourself.”

Several students describe the cafeteria as being too loud and crowded. From a collection of responses from juniors, the most common word to describe the cafeteria was “overwhelming.”

This same group was asked if they ever left to go somewhere for lunch to avoid the cafeteria, and 100% answered, “yes.”

So why leave for lunch? The simple answer is that the cafeteria is an overstimulating, scary place that is easy to avoid. Often, it puts students in a vulnerable situation, constantly stressing about questions like, “Who’s in this lunch?” “Where will I sit?” “Do I sit with that group?” “Why can’t I just leave?”

Some students skip lunch altogether and choose to study in the library instead. This can cause a lasting hunger, as these students are not consuming food from roughly 8:00 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. or longer. 

And the students that choose to voyage to Cafe Fresh and Starbucks daily? They typically have to rush back to class while gulping down the food that leaves a ten dollar dent to their bank accounts once a day. 

This overwhelming lunch experience calls for the improvement of the cafeteria environment as well as the possibility to provide more comfortable alternatives.

According to Erin Whiting, BYU associate professor of multicultural education in the McKay School of Education, “for many students, the unstructured part of lunch is needed. For others, lunchtime is accompanied by social anxiety, uncertainty or even bullying.” Whiting suggests that teachers should “look for ways to provide spaces for students who prefer quieter activities or chances to study” during lunch hours. 

Some students suggest that longer lunch periods may help students ease into the lunch setting and not feel as frantic if they choose to leave for lunch. Additionally, adding a larger variety of seating arrangements has been proposed by several students. The cushioned seats in the 450s and 750s have become a popular location for studying and chatting– what if these areas could be established destinations for lunch as well? These seats don’t simply have to remain in these modern parts of the building; adding more cushioned seating throughout the school could  aid to the comfort level of students during lunch. Moreover, the potential to create “quiet” lunch rooms to avoid the business and hectic nature of the cafeteria offers the ability to study in a focused environment, while still being able to eat. 

The cafeteria adds an additional layer of stress and discomfort to the already demanding school day. Ideally, lunch breaks should be a time to socialize, study, laugh, rant, or simply enjoy a moment to recharge for the second half of the day. 

Hopefully, the cafeteria can evolve into a place where students are provided with diverse seating options and environments, ultimately making the experience less overwhelming. 

According to the organization Every Moment Counts, which focuses on embedding strategies to help all youth enjoy the cafeteria experience, “When the school cafeteria environment is pleasant, students eat more of their lunch, do better in their academic work, have fewer behavioral problems, and feel more connected to their school.”

Community is achieved only when collective effort and inclusion come together—and perhaps that sense of connection can start during lunch.