lunchroom changes
by Verez matthews
In elementary school, you have recess; in middle school, you have physical education class; and in high school, you have lunch. The older one gets, the more it seems is taken away.
This year Germantown High has eliminated many items on the already limited lunch menu. Also, the price of the new, much healthier lunch, has been raised an extra 25 cents, now making a normal lunch $2.25.
The raise in price does not only affect the normal meal, but also the snacks. The snack cost has been heightened by 15 cents, now costing 75 cents a piece for a baked bag of chips.
“I can only imagine [the raise in price] has something to do with gas prices and transportation of our food. It’s pretty common, if you look at the local restaurants, take for example Lenny’s, they had to go up a dollar a sandwich, just to cover their fuel cost on shipping produce and meat,” assistant principal Jon Stencel said.
Many students have complained about the cost, thinking that the revenue for the lunchroom food was directly given to each individual school. This is not the case.
“[The money] goes to the school board into a larger account”, [rather than to the school’s individual budget], principal Dr. Ted Horrell said.
Due to the change in price, and also menu, many students have refused to eat the schools lunch.
“It's too much, I think, for what we get its not worth $2.25,” junior Christeana Talley said, a mindset many students have adopted.
The new menu consists of substituted items such as turkey burgers, rather than hamburgers, which was a regular choice in the previous years. The new choices are aimed to be much healthier than what has been provided for students in the past.
“I think having more healthy things available is a good thing. I feel like I’ve seen more students getting salads,” Dr. Horrell said.
Stencel agrees.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Stencel said.
These changes are not only affecting Germantown or even just Shelby County Schools, but it is a nationwide solution to childhood obesity made by the Federal Guidelines for school lunches.
However, no one is forced in any way to purchase or partake in the new lunch program if they disagree with the changes in options or price.
“Parents always have the option to send a lunch with their kids to school,” Stencel said.
This year Germantown High has eliminated many items on the already limited lunch menu. Also, the price of the new, much healthier lunch, has been raised an extra 25 cents, now making a normal lunch $2.25.
The raise in price does not only affect the normal meal, but also the snacks. The snack cost has been heightened by 15 cents, now costing 75 cents a piece for a baked bag of chips.
“I can only imagine [the raise in price] has something to do with gas prices and transportation of our food. It’s pretty common, if you look at the local restaurants, take for example Lenny’s, they had to go up a dollar a sandwich, just to cover their fuel cost on shipping produce and meat,” assistant principal Jon Stencel said.
Many students have complained about the cost, thinking that the revenue for the lunchroom food was directly given to each individual school. This is not the case.
“[The money] goes to the school board into a larger account”, [rather than to the school’s individual budget], principal Dr. Ted Horrell said.
Due to the change in price, and also menu, many students have refused to eat the schools lunch.
“It's too much, I think, for what we get its not worth $2.25,” junior Christeana Talley said, a mindset many students have adopted.
The new menu consists of substituted items such as turkey burgers, rather than hamburgers, which was a regular choice in the previous years. The new choices are aimed to be much healthier than what has been provided for students in the past.
“I think having more healthy things available is a good thing. I feel like I’ve seen more students getting salads,” Dr. Horrell said.
Stencel agrees.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Stencel said.
These changes are not only affecting Germantown or even just Shelby County Schools, but it is a nationwide solution to childhood obesity made by the Federal Guidelines for school lunches.
However, no one is forced in any way to purchase or partake in the new lunch program if they disagree with the changes in options or price.
“Parents always have the option to send a lunch with their kids to school,” Stencel said.