Over the course of the 2021-2022 school year, we have had to eat lunch in our homerooms. Before COVID, we were able to eat anywhere from the lunchroom, to the library, to our favorite teachers’ rooms. Students were able to go to the lunchroom where we had access to at least two options as well as a fruit bar and a salad bar. While this freedom was great, it was still lacking in variety.

Now, due to being stuck in our homerooms, the lunch staff have had to individually bag our lunches and bring them to us. We thank our lunch staff for this extra effort they have needed to make all year to adjust to COVID conditions. Having to individually bag the lunches, however, has limited our options even more. We now get only one option with one fruit or vegetable. These lunches are too small to nourish a growing teenager and that's if the students will even eat them.

Seventy-two percent of recently surveyed BRHS students say they have not eaten lunch due to a lack of options at least once over the past year. This is concerning considering some students get most of their nourishment for the day from the school. One student said “High school students can't function on a banana, a small bag of baby carrots, and some sort of sandwich with [an] unidentifiable meat.” Another stated the school needs “higher quality food with more expansive options for vegan and vegetarian students and many students [who] are more picky.” In total, of surveyed students, 63% say our lunch options are either “very bad” or ”bad,” 25% say lunch is “okay,” while only 12% say lunch is “good” or “very good.”

Students' hopes for next year are to bring back our cafeteria and add a few more options. If COVID is not an issue, the fruit and salad bar will return which is beneficial in allowing students to choose their food; the main lunch options, however, still need improvement. Our school should present options to students who have dietary restrictions like gluten or dairy-free as well as vegan or vegetarian options that are more than a plate of lettuce.

Food Services Director Heidi Stevens, in response to my question about vegan and vegetarian options, said “since all meals include a fruit and a vegetable, the additional cost is minimal, usually requiring the purchase of veggie burgers. Unfortunately, there are very few choices available from my vendors of vegetarian foods, so often it simply requires a minor adjustment to the main meal recipe.”  So bringing vegan and vegetarian options is possible, but finding a supplier is where the problem occurs.

One student presents a solution of “find out what the student[s] want at the beginning of the year, then try to make things like it”; another adds to this saying “since the students are the ones eating the lunch, they should get a say in the lunch choices.”

Overall, the majority of students feel the school needs to provide better, more filling, and more varied lunch options. Students also want a say. We are the ones being affected by the school lunch, so we feel we deserve an opportunity to state our opinions on what we eat each day.