There are many things that are great about this school. The teachers, the classes, the camaraderie of students and friends, the food– wait, did I say food? I must’ve misspoken. Let me rephrase. The food here is terrible.

The cafeteria is a place where the students and teachers should be able to hang out and enjoy a healthy lunch. And it once was such a glorious place.  Since I’m a freshman, I don’t know what food was in the cafeteria before this year, but I have heard stories from my older brother. 

Apparently, the school has taken away the ability to make custom sandwiches and salads. Prior to this year, the students could go to a place in the cafeteria where they would order sandwiches that would have anything they choose on them. Ingredients included: salami, ham, roast beef, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, all kinds of cheese, all kinds of sauces and all kinds of bread. That was better food.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the cafeteria. The staff there are doing their best to make sure none of them contract COVID-19 and to make sure that COVID-19 isn’t in some way getting to the students. 

Right now, the menu in the cafeteria is extremely oily: french fries, hamburgers and cheeseburgers are available every day.  The pasta and the taco options can’t escape the grease. One time, I ate the pasta and immediately wanted to take a shower. I once picked up a slice of pizza and there was a concentration of oil in the center of the slice. I decided to use my brain and I didn’t buy it.

The problem with the salad and sandwiches is that no one wants to eat a salad every day of the week, and no one wants to eat the same exact sandwiches every single week.

There are also untouched soft pretzels, “desserts” and snacks that are right in front of the cashiers. These snacks include Rice Krispie Treats, Fritos, Cheetos, Doritos, Lays and a bunch of other unhealthy foods that the cafeteria has.

I’m beginning to think that the school actually wants its students to become unhealthy. If I’m being honest, I’d rather walk a mile on Legos barefoot than eat anything from that cafeteria.

Not only is the cafeteria serving terrible food, but I have heard complaints about the time it opens. It opens at 8:00 in the morning every day. Students and teachers are hungry in the morning and want breakfast options before they have to attend their first-period classes. This new opening time means that only people with frees can eat breakfast in the morning. 

The bottom line is that right now, the menu for the food served at the cafeteria needs to be fixed. It is atrocious and disgusting and someone needs to give it better food because right now, the only thing better than eating this food is not eating lunch at all.