Imagine a lunch room full of hungry students that have the third lunch at their school. They waited throughout the day to eat, and half of them didn’t have time to eat breakfast that morning. They go through the long line for lunch, ready for their first meal of the day. They finally get up to the front, but there’s no food left. The only things left are the small sides that you have to pay extra for.
This is the exact situation that has befallen many students at Maize High School. Here, there are three lunches, and by the time that they get to C lunch, all of the food is gone. Many kids are going hungry instead of getting the meal that they need.
But why is this happening? On paper, it looks like the amount of food that the school has is perfect for the amount of students. In reality, the amount of food given in a serving for the students is not enough to be a full meal, so kids are grabbing multiple portions. Most of the time the highschoolers are getting the same or similar amount of food as the elementary students. It leaves students coming through the line after them without food. The hungry students will often turn to the a la carte or school store, but most of the time, those students will only get chips or a drink; nothing the size of a full meal.
Since there has not been enough food, it would be beneficial to let students go out and get their own lunch. Places like Northwest High School in the Wichita district have open lunch, meaning that students can leave, go to the local restaurants, and then come back to the school. It can be difficult to monitor, but it would make sense if the school is running out of food. Giving the school open lunch would also help boost the local economy. There are a ton of new restaurants going in on Maize Road, and it would also help local businesses such as Moxi Junction.
The cafeteria running out of food hurts the students that qualify for free lunches. Yes, the a la carte and the school store are right there, but students coming from underprivileged families don’t have the money to pay extra everyday just to not even get a full meal.
Gluten or lactose intolerant students are also affected by the food because almost everything the school provides has one of the two in it. The only drink included in the lunches without paying extra is the cartons of milk, and bottles of water cost extra from the lunch room or school store.
On top of all of this, the food shortage issue gets worse at the end of a term or before a break. Food is never restocked right before students leave for a longer period of time, so it always seems like the school is scrounging up whatever they can find for lunches. This makes the portions smaller and inconsistent.
Overall, there is definitely a food service issue that needs to be addressed. Students should be given bigger portions more suited to their age, which would help with people taking more than one portion. There should also be more options for students with allergies, and enough food to give to the students that don’t have extra money on their accounts. There should never be a reason that students are going hungry at lunch.