School lunch is different for different people. For some people it could be their job, for others, it is a time to spend with friends, and for most, it is a chance to replenish the nutritional needs of your body. For the people who see school lunches as work like Erin Hiemstra and Tonya Griffioen, they give it their all to make sure that students, teachers, and staff all get what they need nutritionally, even though only 90-95 percent of students say “please” and “thank you” when they get their cafeteria food. People who see school lunches as a time to replenish their bodies like Henry Seaver and Jacob Wright, claim that they all like different meals to do so.
The school’s cafeteria’s most common pros are the lunch aides and cooks who love to work with each other, as well as the excellent food, and the cons are the long lines to get said food and when food supply runs out for the top five ‘fan favorites’. What are they you may ask?
- Taco bar
- Fish sandwiches with cheese
- Parfaits
- Chinese food
- Meatloaf
Even though school lunch is free for students, it isn’t free for teachers like Ryan Beauregard. Beauregard gets school lunch about two to three times a week despite the price. Most of the time he gets whatever is on the “hot bar” which holds the breakfast-for-lunch meals. He likes the “brunch” because he loves the french toast and sausage patties the lunch staff serves on those days, despite the most common meals of students being slices of pizza, nachos, subs, or french fries. One of Beauregard’s suggestions for the kitchen staff is he would like to see the soft chocolate chip cookies back as an option, like when he was in high school himself.
School lunch is a convenient option for students, as it is quick and free. Seaver ‘24 gets school lunch about four times a week, opting to either get pizza or nachos. His main incentive is that he doesn’t want to bring his lunch from home. He said that if he could advise the lunch staff, it would be to “give more pizza.” Wright ‘26 gets lunch about two times a week, and if he could, he would definitely get seconds of the Bosco sticks. Wright’s advice for the lunch staff is, “To give anything off of the Chick-fil-A menu.”
From teachers to students, school lunch influences everybody in many ways. Having good meals to eat and enjoy with friends, having a good relationship with lunch staff members, and knowing Plainwell’s teachers are enjoying the same meals as their students, are all great reasons to get in line for a school lunch today.
