A law passed in 2022 made California the first state to implement a statewide universal meal program, which requires all schools to offer students two meals a day free of charge. Still, students at Placer High School often complain that there isn’t enough food for all the students.
There are three lines in the cafeteria: one for pizza, one for burgers, and the other for salads. Most students steer clear of the salad line and aim for the pizza or burgers. However, the cafeteria often runs out before everyone gets the chance to eat, so if you are late, you might have to think of an alternative lunch.
“When I got in line for pizza they didn’t have any left so I couldn’t eat anything,” stated freshmen David Ramirez-Orellano.
Placer students believe that enough food should be supplied for everyone. They argue hillmen shouldn’t have to spend personal money on food when they have the option of eating free food in the cafeteria.
Freshman Keira Moulton shared, “They run out of pizza all the time and I don’t like the other food so when they run out, I have to either not eat or spend my money on food downtown.”
According to Brittany Stevens, one of Placer’s cafeteria workers, Placer High School is required to have a certain amount of food choices each day. Therefore, there are fewer servings for each type of food. When everyone goes for the pizza, they run out quickly. An example of the everyday foods in the cafeteria is 96 pepperoni pizzas, 24 cheese pizzas, and 50 cheeseburgers, with availability to a salad bar.
Del Oro doesn’t seem to have this problem.
Sonni Gentry, a sophomore at Del Oro High School stated, “I don’t think the food runs out at Del Oro but if it does we have other options.”
Some believe Placer runs out of food because of the open campus policy. This makes it harder to calculate the amount of food to prepare for students because many people eat off campus. Del Oro has closed campus so they have more of an idea of who is going to eat cafeteria food.
“We don’t run out of food completely but we can run out of certain options. Pizza is the most popular option so occasionally it will run out but we have sandwiches and salads as an alternative,” Kya Thompson, a sophomore at Del Oro stated.
The cafeteria running out of food also causes students to eat more unhealthy and unbalanced meals. When students can’t get food from the cafeteria, sometimes they decide to just go to the gas station for a soda and chips or get a scoop of rice from Hanami. If the cafeteria hadn’t run out of food students could’ve gotten a burger, salad, or pizza.
Studies show that students learn better when they eat a well-balanced and filling meal. The lack of cafeteria food could also factor into students not focusing in class.
According to Second Harvest Of Silicon Valley, “Nutrition impacts brain development, memory and cognitive function, energy, attention and focus, which are all critical to the ability to absorb and retain information.”
Overall, students need access to enough food at lunch to fuel their day.