With a new cafeteria system and only 30 minutes for lunch, the midday rush has become a source of daily stress for hundreds of students.
The new cafeteria flow includes the relocation of the deli line and new food serving stations. For many students this year, the cafeteria’s changes led to chaotic lunch lines, crowded spaces and long waits that left them struggling to eat and finish lunch comfortably. Meanwhile, cafeteria staff have said they are working on solutions to improve the flow.
Students have expressed their opposition to the new cafeteria system and many students said they think that the lunch line has been less chaotic in the past. Junior Silvia Olivera said she has been very annoyed with the lunch line this year.
“Last year it was okay, but this year it’s like there are no lines—it’s all crowded,” Olivera said. “Everyone keeps skipping the lines too. So if you’re not at the front at the beginning of lunch, you’re probably not getting lunch for another 30 minutes. Then by the time you get lunch, your class is starting in five minutes.”
Experiencing similar frustrations, senior Liam Chan said he thought the change of students in 115 Greenough has contributed to the chaos in the lunch lines this year.
“I think this year the culture has changed as the freshmen shifted over from the freshman building to the Greenough Street building and cafeteria,” Chan said. “It’s made lunch a lot harder because they don’t really know how to form a line correctly.”
Cafeteria Manager Yonel Augustin said that the cafeteria staff are working to develop a better flow and are open to suggestions from students.
“There’s a lot of changes and we’re still looking for the improvements and people’s ideas so we can put it in as a school,” Augustin said. “So everybody should come eat and tell [us] how they feel.”
Deli lines
Among the most frequently mentioned complaints was the new location of the deli line. With cafeteria staff serving made-to-order custom panini sandwiches, the deli line is a popular lunch choice among students. However, the long and crowded line that comes with the sandwiches makes them less attractive to busy students.
The deli line, previously located along the right wall of the cafeteria, was moved to the main serving area this year. Students voiced that they were unhappy with the change and the crowding that it created. Olivera said that all the lines seemed overly packed.
“I’m not sure why they moved the deli line into where the normal lunches used to be. Now it’s way more cramped,” Olivera said.
Senior Max Cappelletti said that he didn’t have time to eat his lunch when he spent most of the time waiting in line and that he would be late to class in order to have sufficient time. He said the line should be moved back to its original location.
“Move the deli line back to the deli section,” Capelletti said. “Most people like the deli sandwich anyway, so they would get them out of the main area. Then everyone who wants anything that’s not the sandwich can just grab it and go.”
Associate Dean Lisa Redding said that administration was working with the kitchen staff to find the best flow in the cafeteria and that they were still making changes. She said that the deli line was moved because of problems in the previous location.
“The problem with the sandwich line over there: it was setting off the smoke [alarm]. So we moved the sandwich line here because there are vents. We’re seeing how this works,” Redding said. “There’s still a bottleneck over here, but we’re observing, trying to figure out how to get it going faster. Any suggestions are welcome.”
Redding said that she has heard complaints about the long deli line, but she believes the length of the line is similar to last year.
“It looks crowded. But it’s not really—the flow is that people go to the left and they can go get the hot lunch,” Redding said. “So it might feel a little cramped as part of being over there. But it’s not any longer.”
Lunch system
Past the deli line and inside of the serving area itself, the cafeteria is blocked off into different food offering lines. Therefore, the lines often become messy and more blob-like, leading to confusion and frustration for some students.
Sophomore Austin Huang said that he thought the lunch system at 22 Tappan was much better.
“The freshman building had good food and short lines,” Huang said. “I want it to be more like the freshman building, where there are three or four [staff running] three or four lines.”
Junior Barkai Schneider thought that solutions could consist of more staff and a better balance between the number of students assigned to each lunch block.
“There are so many people in here at once,” Schneider said. “I feel like lunch one and lunch two are kind of unbalanced. If it was half and half, maybe it would be better.”
According to Olivera, the biggest problem with the lunch lines this year is the line cutting.
“I would go into line, and then I look away to talk to my friend for five seconds, I turn back around, and there are 30 new people in front of me,” Olivera said. “I can’t tell them to move, because then they’ll just ignore me.”
Olivera thinks the solution to the line cutting is more staff inside of the cafeteria serving area instead in the eating areas and STEM commons.
“Just have more people, like teachers, inside the actual cafeteria place saying, ‘You can’t cut, you have to go to the end of the line,’” Olivera said. “Then maybe more workers to get the food quicker [would be helpful].”
Redding said that staffing can sometimes be limited, but that it does improve the flow.
“I think it’s all about who’s at work, who shows up. Because we could have more, but sometimes not everybody shows up,” Redding said. “We need to have people making the sandwiches and scooping out the hot lunch. So obviously it flows better if we have three people checking out instead of two.”
Food variety
Accompanying the line changes in the lunch system, this year there are more meal options for students to choose from daily. Parts of the cafeteria are labeled to have designated foods every day.
Augustin said he noticed the cafeteria is trying to offer more options for students.
“We’re trying to have three different [meal options] and we move really fast,” Augustin said. “Last year we didn’t have a big daily selection, so now we have more options for students and people, gluten free and vegan and other things for everybody.”
Redding said that she loves the choice the cafeteria offers.
“I love the variety in the cafeteria. I really do,” Redding said. “You know—the salad bar, the hot lunch, the grab-and-go. I love the fresh fruit here. There’s often yogurt there too, high-hands-on. Then of course the deli. I think there’s a good selection.”
However, not everyone thinks there is a wide variety. According to Olivera, the food selection seems similar to how it was last year. She said she would appreciate having more sides with the main lunch items.
“Last year there would be days where you just get pizza and that’s it. [This year] it’s the same—like yesterday my friend just got a huge slice of pizza on a plate, literally nothing else,” Olivera said. “But then some days, like today, it’s not bad, but it’s not the greatest.”
Staff response
With students still adjusting to the new school year and different lunch flow, the cafeteria system remains imperfect. However, the cafeteria staff wants to emphasize that they strive to improve. Augustin said they aim to work past roadblocks.
“There’s always setbacks and always challenges,” Augustin said. “So our goal is to beat the challenges every day.”
Redding said that she thought the whole cafeteria, not just the lines, felt a little more crowded than last year. She suggested that more students go outside to remedy this.
“I wonder why students aren’t going outside. I notice that every time I’m on lunch duty, especially now while the weather is good,” Redding said. “I’m like ‘go out, enjoy. How many schools let you go out front, sit on the lawn or the quad?’”
Ultimately, Augustin said that the biggest goal for the cafeteria is for it to reflect the needs of students.
“We want feedback, we want changes, to make changes,” Augustin said. “We want to listen to [students] first and see what [students] want the cafeteria to look like. Then we’re gonna do the best for [students].”
