In recent years, students have noticed inflation through school lunch prices. Lunch is something that is required by the state of Illinois. Schools should be able to provide lunch services to students. Every year the students of Hillcrest High School have the same complaint: the cost of the food.
Throughout the years, Sodexo has kept raising the prices and shortening the options.This year is no different, but now there are overpriced snacks in the vending machines. A small packet of Skittles and M&M’s costs $2.75 each, If you pay with a card the cost is $2.95. A plastic soda bottle costs $2.75. These are items that students will pay for at the moment because we have limited options.
We are not allowed to order outside food, thus forcing us to buy overpriced food. Our options are not even healthy options. They sell the same things every day: pizza, chicken tenders, and fries. Some lunch periods of the school are given the leftovers of the previous hours because it didn’t get sold. So not only is it unhealthy, it is cold! Sometimes we are out of food and are only given one option until the truck comes on Mondays to restock. These are not healthy options for students, especially some that are athletes and have games and practices after school.
According to the article “Obesity Among High School Students in the United States,” obesity among teenagers in the U.S. has increased resulting from poor nutrition and lack of physical activity. Schools should be promoting healthy diets and need to focus on creating better food options for students.
In our community, families are struggling with high taxes and these school lunches are costly and unhealthy. Not all families qualify for free or reduced-lunch, and so I’ve noticed that some of my classmates skip lunch because of the cost. It’s painful to see how overpriced and underwhelming the food is.
Another issue with Sodexo is that we are in a new era where we are able to pay with our phones through Apple Pay, Cashapp and much more. Why, then, do they only take cash in the lunchroom? This makes it hard for high school students to purchase something since we don’t rely on cash anymore. They have a method where we can recharge our meal balance electronically, but it takes up to 2 days to go through; this means we simply cannot purchase food. It’s extremely frustrating.
In addition, in an article written by CNBC News called “School Lunch Prices Are Up,” Shelly Werger, a mom of two daughters ages 12 and 16, remarks that school lunch prices are increasing. Additionally, “[Students] don’t even always like the lunches, but [parents] don’t always have time to make a meal either.” Some parents don’t have the time or resources to pack a lunch for their children to eat everyday. On the other hand, students are also very busy with extracurricular activities and homework. Many don’t have enough time to make something as simple as a sandwich. Therefore, students are forced to buy overpriced school lunches in order to have a meal for the day.
Overall, Hillcrest High School, along with other schools in the area, should consider lowering the price of school lunches, offering healthy options and take other forms of payment. While this may reduce the amount of profit per meal, it could lead to increased sales overall. Additionally, being able to have access to free lunch should be extended even to students who don’t qualify because no student should be denied a meal. Being able to find different forms of payment could further benefit both students and the school by increasing accessibility and revenue.
Most importantly, students deserve healthier food options to support and encourage a healthy lifestyle.
