From the most popular lunches, like Orange Chicken and Mac and Cheese, to the less popular Rib Sandwich, the majority of Algonquin students who pick up school lunches are passionate about the menu, which the cafeteria staff works hard to develop and meet nutritional standards while pleasing students’ taste buds. 

Many students wonder if their voice matters in determining the frequency or absence of certain meals. Food Services Manager Gina Sae So is open to feedback and has been working to try new menu items. 

Following the retirement of the previous long-standing Food Services Manager, Sae So has stepped up to fulfill the duty of organizing lunch menus and providing new options to students, one of which made its first appearance in the cafeteria on June 3.   

“Because it’s hot [now]…I want to think of something cold for the summer,” Sae So said. “We’re doing a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant, and instead of a hot vegetable, it’ll be a pea salad.”

While Sae So considers the time of year in determining new meals, she also takes into consideration the preferences she would have had as a high school student. 

“[I think] about what I’d like to eat, what I would want to see when I was in high school,” Sae So said. “If it’s popular, I try it again, and if not, we should switch it up.” 

According to a Harbinger survey of 178 students conducted via Google Forms from May 15 to May 22, 47% of students selected Orange Chicken as one of their three favorite meals, followed by Mac and Cheese (39%) and Chicken Patty (27%). The Rib Sandwich was identified as one of their three least favorite meals by 46% of respondents, followed by the Buffalo Chicken Tot Bowl (42%) and Chicken Fajita Bowl (38%).

Sae So likes to be creative with the menu offerings, but she also acknowledges the regulations the government requires schools to follow. 

“There’s regulations we have to stand by as far as school and state requirements that make sure there are healthy and balanced meals,” Sae So said. “If there’s something within that guideline that [students] want to see, I’d be happy to try it out.”

Following the new leadership in the cafeteria, this year’s lunch menu has undergone changes, featuring a variety of sides, new meals and a more frequent appearance of certain foods. Some of the new offerings have included the Beef Bulgogi Bowl, Cottage Pie, Beef Lo Mein and Falafel. 

Many students enjoy the majority of the menu, while others want changes.

“The lunches recently have been pretty good; they’re trying new stuff like Chinese food,” sophomore Eric Kerxhalli said. “[Lo Mein Beef] was super good.”

Kerxhalli appreciates the new additions to the menu, but has a negative opinion about a more recurring meal. 

“I feel like the problem is the Pasta Wednesdays,” Kerxhalli said. “In my opinion, it’s a very mediocre lunch, and we have to have it every week.”

According to the Harbinger survey, 32% of respondents place pasta and meat sauce in their top three least favorite meals. 

“I haven’t liked Pasta Wednesdays for a while now,” sophomore Lucas Oliveria said. “It got repetitive quickly.” 

Like Kerxhalli and Oliveria, many survey respondents also expressed boredom with Pasta Wednesdays.

“Some of the things are too repetitive, such as the pasta,” one respondent said. “Not many people like it and yet it’s very common.” 

Other students find the portion sizes too small.

“[I dislike] the mozzarella sticks,” Oliveria said. “They only give us like, four.”

Some students wish there were even a doubling in portion sizes. 

“I’d like more food,” Kerxhalli said. “Not enough for a full meal, I’d say, but I’m not going to lie, double the portions in a lot of lunches.”

Even though students may enjoy some of the lunch offerings, the dissatisfaction with small portions still remains a common theme.

“With my least favorites, it isn’t because they don’t taste good, they just aren’t as fulfilling,” a survey respondent said. 

Although students have recommendations to improve the lunch menu, some lunches have always remained student favorites. 

“Chicken Patty is the best,” Oliviera said. “There’s always variety, you can get normal or spicy.”

The Chicken Patty is a classic student favorite that is sometimes served as a different meal with bacon on top.

“I get the Chicken Patty with bacon; you can’t say that one is bad, it’s fire,” freshman Michael Harmon said.

Another popular lunch item is the Mac and Cheese, which 39% of survey respondents said was within their top three favorite meals served.

“I really like Mac and Cheese,” sophomore Evan Chang said. “It’s all free food, so I like all of it.” 

Since school lunch is free, students will often still eat the main offering even if it is not one of their favorites. However, the vast majority of students do not eat the vegetable side that is served with the main part of the meal. 

According to the Harbinger survey, the favorite lunch side is the Caesar Salad (56%) and a distant second is peas (13%). The least favorite sides are Fiesta Bean Salad (32%) followed by green beans (23%).

“I don’t love vegetables,” Chang said. “So I don’t like all the sides, but I do like the watermelon.” 

While vegetables are mandatory to be put on the tray, fruit is entirely optional and up to the student to pick up. 

“I don’t like the majority of the sides that are vegetables,” Harmon said. “I like the oranges, though; they’re good.”

Orange slices are the favorite fruit offering of 23% of survey respondents, followed by watermelon and strawberries (each with 16%).

Along with the main items served at lunch, the cafeteria also tries to provide vegetarian-safe and allergen-free meals every day.

“We definitely have options for people who can’t have certain meat, like pork,” Sae So said. “We do vegan options, and we also have gluten-free options for students who can’t have that.”

Even with vegetarian and gluten-free options, some students wish there were more items for them, beyond salads.

“It’s incredibly frustrating that there are a very limited number of vegetarian options,” a survey respondent said. “On days that I cannot eat meat, the only option ends up being pizza.” 

The respondent explains how the salad and sandwich options run out quickly, and they don’t like them anyway.

When asked in the survey what meals or sides they wished the cafeteria served, responses included more vegetarian meals, grilled chicken, waffles, quesadillas, a burrito wrap/nacho line, Indian food, fries, no-spice options, sweet potato fries, Greek yogurt cups, grilled cheese, cucumbers and garlic bread.

Sae So says she is open to hearing feedback and that the school is in the process of creating a platform to receive student input.

“We are currently in the process [of] creating a new system,” Sae so said. “It will be an interactive platform where the students can provide feedback in real time.”