The average student at the high school follows the same weekday schedule: wake
up early to get to school by 8;15, endure the six-hour-long academic day filled with classes and tests, immediately head to an energy-demanding sports practice as soon as school gets out, then finally arrive home around 5:30 p.m. That’s six hours of exhausting learning, followed by two hours of strenuous physical activity. So the fact that most students at the high school survive this physically and mentally demanding schedule every day on a lunch that’s small enough to be considered a snack is absurd.

As I have learned this year in biology class, food is not only fuel for the body, but also for the brain. If what we eat maximizes our mental abilities, what is the point of the school cafeteria if it does not fuel students sufficiently so that they can achieve academic success?

The high school is failing its students because the cafeteria simply does not have adequate lunches. The portions are too small, and the food is unappealing to many students. When I have cafeteria food for lunch, I feel sluggish and drowsy due to hunger for the rest of the day. It becomes a challenge to finish off my last classes, all because I chose to eat the offered school lunch instead of buying food from a store.

The school might argue that although the portions are small, students should have no problem getting enough food for lunch because the cafeteria has a fruit bar, from which we can take as much food as we want. However, even when I rush straight to the fruit bar at the beginning of lunch, all I am met with is a sparse supply of grapes and a puddle of fruit juice to go with it. There is not enough fruit for the very first students who arrive, let alone every other student who arrives afterwards.

In addition to small servings, students often leave half of their plates untouched due to the lack of appealing food, rather than any fault of the students. Take into account a recent pizza side: sweet potato fries, a commonly-liked dish. However, after interviewing 15 students I found in the cafeteria at lunch, 13 said they would most definitely not eat the sweet potatoes because they looked unappealing. That is a huge proportion of students throwing away half of their meal every day. That waste is not the fault of the students. When the school fails to provide meals liked by the majority of students, each student’s already limited portions decrease even further.

The town and high school need to improve our cafeteria by offering bigger serving sizes and more
enjoyable meals. The lunchroom’s current state is unfair to those who rely on the cafeteria as their main source of nourishment, as everyone should be able to get enough food to eat at lunch. Having enough food to focus in school should not be considered a privilege, but rather a necessity that ensures all students can succeed in high school. Change starts when students speak out and advocate for the portion sizes they need and the food they want. The staff must listen and address this issue; every student deserves proper fueling.