Sitting down at the lunch table, I took a deep breath and braced myself for the disappointment I knew was coming. As a teenager, I had come to expect the lackluster offerings of the school cafeteria: unappetizing mystery meat, rubbery pizza, and bland vegetables that looked like they had been cooked days ago.  (You’ve probably heard similar criticisms of school lunches from other students.  Unfortunately, students tend to concentrate on the negative and forget about the menu items and service that we really like in the cafeteria.)

Our quotes were from different people, some students, and some staff members, who really had an opinion on the school lunch that was being served to us.

“All honesty, I feel the school lunch could be so much better. I see so much of the pizza burnt or just super soggy. The only thing I feel is alright daily is the burgers or the fiesta section,” a junior named Simon said.

Then some didn’t really have an answer. They just couldn’t do anything about the school lunch.

“I mean, I guess it could be much better, but there’s only so much we can do to make it better. I would love to hear suggestions as to how to make it better, but as of right now, I am not sure as to what we can do,” a lunch lady said.

There were some who really had strong feelings about the food and knew that the whole product of the food was intended to be good for students, and they wanted to make it good.

“It’s healthier than people think, and we try to make it all fresh. But obviously, there’s only so much we can do, but we truly do try to make the food enjoyable for the kids,” Ms. Gomez, a lunch lady, said.

Then one person really gave us a full explanation as to why things could be better or would get better within time.

“I think the school lunch is good. We’re always open to suggestions, and even then, they are fixing stuff in here so that we could make changes to the menu and make things just more different for us and you students too, of course,” Ms. Betty Tinken, director of food service at Morton East, said.

Then some people haven’t really sensed that there is any option for the food to get better. They just kind of live with it and deal with it since it’s only for a couple of times.

“I just feel there really isn’t anything to do to change it. I don’t see the point in having this conversation if you can just eat at home too. People need to just calm down with the whole wanting new foods,” a senior named Azzy said.