Breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, but students at Benjamin Carson High School spend a lot of time thinking about lunch. Lunch is served to around 400 students every day at Benjamin Carson .
Some students complain about the prepackaged meals.
Ninth grade student Mahfuza Meem is one of them.
“The lunch has no taste,” said Meem. “it is not a healthy meal for students and the students are given the same kind of lunch everyday.”
While some students choose not to eat lunch, others find the lunch appropriate.
“I feel the school lunch is appropriate because it’s nutritious and healthy,” said Terry Macon, a cafeteria worker at Benjamin Carson. Macon said if she could change anything about the school lunch she would add more fruits and vegetables.
“They do a decent job considering their budget,” said Principal Charles Todd. “The amount of money per pupil that the federal government provides is not great.”
Todd says the food has changed in recent years.
“Over the last four to five years they changed the guidelines so they reduced the amount of salt and fat,” said Todd. “It tastes different because of the salt and fat reduced.”
Todd thinks fresh greens are important to the meal menu.
“I’ve been fighting for a salad bar for years.” said Todd.
The principal says the food service is very careful. “There are inspections. They make sure it’s clean. The workers at the school monitor the food for quality.”
“It’s an appropriate, healthy meal for students” said Carmelita Ivory, another cafeteria worker at Benjamin Carson, adding, “It could use a little more salt and pepper for some taste.”
