The cost of school meals increased this school year, with breakfast going up to $1.60 from $1.5o, and lunch going up to $3 from $2.85 at high schools, according to an article by The Sentinel.

According to The Sentinel, the price increase “stems from a recommendation from the department of food and nutrition services so the department can ‘maintain a financially self-supporting operation,’ to comply with requirements from the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 and the rising cost of healthy foods.”

However, some students said that they feel that lunch is too expensive, or not worth that much money to them.

“The quality of the food isn’t that great to cost three dollars,” said senior Breanne Joseph. Even though she admitted to not knowing how the food gets prepared, Joseph said, “I see what is presented to me and it isn’t that good.” Three-dollar lunch should “have actual fresh food, not pre-frozen food,” Joseph said.

Senior Ralph Madera said that the school lunch is “sometimes undercooked.” “It’s just not worth $3,” he said. Freshman Diego Araiza agreed with Madera and said “it’s not worth it.”

“If lunch is going to cost $3, they should at least make something good,” Araiza said.

Junior Desha Edwards said that she thought that the price of school lunch is “not reasonable.” “It should be at least one or two dollars,” she said. “I only sometimes eat the salad, because I just feel the food they cook is not well done. Thank God for the vending machines,” she said.

Freshman Joselyn Escovar believes the school lunch doesn’t have enough variety. “Three dollars is okay if there are more foods to choose from,” she said. “If they are going to [exaggerate] the price, they might as well make something good,” she continued. “Even the vending machines are expensive.”

Junior Wilber Aguilar admitted to not eating school lunch because it’s “too expensive.” “I don’t eat lunch sometimes because the food doesn’t taste good,” he said. “For three dollars, I can get two McChickens at McDonalds.”

Junior Devin Cook, however, said that “Three dollars is a reasonable price for school lunch.” “It depends on the food,” said Cook, who looked at the food in front of him, and commented, “it’s worth $3 today because I got a large amount of food.”

Junior Edward Brennan said that he brings lunch from home because he doesn’t want to pay for the school lunch, and because “it doesn’t look good nor does it taste good.” By Brennan’s cost estimates, he would save a significant amount by just bringing ham and cheese sandwiches from home.

Senior Keigan Thornton sometimes brings lunch from home, and when she doesn’t, she said that she doesn’t eat the school lunch, because the school lunch only has the “bare minimum calories and most students can’t function on [the] bare minimum calories.” Thornton estimated the price for each item she puts on her roast beef sandwich, concluding that she’s saving “$20 per two weeks,” agreeing with Brennan that bringing lunch from home is cheaper.

Different students criticized the quantity and quality of the food, however cafeteria manager Ms. Theresa Hutchinson had a different view.

“The quality of the food is there,” Ms. Hutchinson said. As far as quantity goes, Ms. Hutchinson said, “we go by the state guidelines,” and “we can’t give any more than the county” offers. She would also disagree with Escovar, who said that school lunch lacks variety. Instead, Ms. Hutchinson said students “are actually getting up to 7 selections.”

“You have to have two vegetables, up to two fruits, [and] for the entrée, you get a dairy and you get a drink and you get a protein,” she said. “For three dollars, you can’t get that anywhere else… We are offering you other items this year than we have in the past.” Ms. Hutchinson admitted that the presentation of the food could be improved, and said, “the way we prepare it and present it, that’s what we are working on now.”

Ms. Hutchinson also said that “the hamburgers are frozen product” and that that is “the same thing you are going to get at a fast food restaurant.”

Ms. Hutchinson stated that this week, students would start being served “fresh lettuce and tomatoes.”

“Yes, I think it’s a pretty good price for the meal that you are getting and the selection you are offered. Now the quality — I’ll have to work on that,” Ms. Hutchinson concluded.