USA Today reports on recent figures by the School Nutrition Association that show middle students have around 30 minutes to eat. This includes the time it takes to get into the lunchroom, wait in line for a meal and find a place to sit. By the time some children get to their seats and open up their food, their time is down to 15 minutes or less in many cases. At Rosemont we are facing a similar dilemma at the moment. Kids eating at the cafeteria are only having about 5-10 minutes to eat their food and that is certainly not enough time to finish lunch. 

Eating From The Cafeteria

Worth it or not? Everyone has their own opinions, but listen to what these students have to say. Narek Jaytyan, a fellow student here at Rosemont says, “It depends on which line it is. The one in the cafeteria is definitely worth it, due to how fast it goes by. However the ones outside are definitely slower and not worth it.” Another student, Mark Aslanian said, “It takes 15 minutes to eat. By the time you get to your seat and find your friends you have about 10 minutes.” While this is a problem, there is a solution. Boxed meals. These meals have pros that greatly outweigh the cons. Food waste, hungry kids, and incomplete meals are all problems boxed lunches could solve. However, there aren’t many options for boxed food each day. So we strongly urge the cafeteria to provide more options for boxed lunches. 

Drama In The Line

Injuries, cutsies, fights! So much drama! Students who do not eat in the cafeteria are also being affected by the cafeteria lines. There are reports of students being hurt in the cafeteria crowds. One student said he got pushed into a railing. Another said she got hit in the leg by a student rushing to get to the Cafeteria line. One student got shoved into a wall and got bruises.

We need to be safer in these crowds. People are rushing to not go through the long lines. Those long lines all come down to students cutting the line.

How do we solve this? As students we can try our best to follow ROCKS. Starting with not skipping the line, being kinder to each other, and more that follow the ROCKS expectations. It’s worth a shot, and that shot can make a difference.

Help Wanted

One of the workers on this article you may have seen if you ate from the cafeteria recently. His name is Gary, and he decided to get some insider information by working in the cafeteria himself, just to see the lines through the eyes of a lunch gentleman. He realized that, yes, it is very stressful in the cafe, and frankly, the students are a contributing factor. In negative and positive ways. 

Bad news first. When Gary first arrived at the Cafe for the first time, the cafeteria workers told him to wash his hands, put his backpack on a little rolly cart, put some gloves on, and then listen to the lunch workers. The number one rule? DON’T LET THE KIDS GRAB THEIR FOOD FROM OVER THE COUNTER. And Gary could definitely see the importance of that rule. As he worked, he found people grabbing unwrapped food with their bare hands, and then saying, “Wait, I don’t want this.” And then they just put it back! However, students could also help out by simply walking up to the cafeteria a few minutes before snack, and just asking to volunteer. Plus- there is some free stuff you can get if you volunteer.