Are the satisfactions and expectations met in terms of quality, flavor, and nutrients from the school lunch? That is an important question that I believe we should all be asking ourselves. The cafeteria food is the source of our energy available to us for free, which doesn’t necessarily mean that the food quality doesn’t matter anymore to students. If the students at Birmingham Community Charter High School are not receiving enough nutrients throughout the remainder of the day, then we should all be concerned. How can the teachers and the school staff expect students to perform to the best of their abilities if they aren’t getting enough nutrients for their bodies?

Although the school lunch isn’t seen as a big or important topic of discussion, I believe it should be. It not only affects the students’ energy, but it also affects their work performance. We should be more aware of what we are openly putting into our bodies. However, the food may taste nutritious, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is healthy. While interviewing Brisa Pineda (10), who is a cheerleader here at Birmingham, on the topic of better food choices by the school, Brisa stated, “I believe that we should introduce better food here at the cafeterias because some of the food options aren’t very nutritious.”

As a student myself, I experience school lunch food firsthand every day. From my point of view, I feel that the chicken sandwiches they hand out at the school cafes for lunch are dry, which is mostly due to the patties. We have to add either one to two packs of mayo so that the patty isn’t dry. I like the chicken sandwiches regardless, which, despite their flaws, continue to be delicious. On the other hand, the yogurt pack with the granola crumbs and peaches is, I believe, a great source of nutrients. I always feel full and have more energy throughout the rest of the day. Therefore, I believe we should invest more in the food quality of this school.

As Hazel Nolasco (11) expressed, “I  do think that students should be able to get more than one food choice because only eating one thing for the remainder of the day wouldn’t be enough energy for us.” I do indeed agree with Hazel because shortly after lunch ends, I tend to see some of my classmates half asleep during instruction.

Nik Nava (11), a baseball player here at BCCHS, commented that, “I need to eat for my baseball practice, so I do get some food from the cafeteria, but I don’t think that getting lunch is enough for the rest of the day.” I asked Nik, Why? He responded,” Well, if you’re trying to bulk or something, you won’t be able to because you’re only allowed to get one thing for lunch.” If our athletes here at Birmingham are communicating to us and our school community that the lunch isn’t enough, then the school needs to step it up and take care of this issue regarding meal quality and meal size.