Lunch Crunch
Tom Parkin, senior, imitates stealing from the lunch line, a common occurence in the cafeteria. Theft is one the many issues that contributes to food price increases.
March 31, 2010 • Roseana Cruz, Editor-in-Chief
Filed under News
In the hustle and bustle of lunchtime, some buyers grow worrisome at the rising prices of their favorite foods. Instead of dismissing these hike-ups as another inevitable result of the economic crisis, students should know that they too have an effect.
Since the cafeteria’s budget is separate from the school’s, food prices are highly dependant on student patronage. The cafeteria seems to be most popular at the beginning of the school year; sales steadily decrease as the year transpires. This trend continues even on a weekly basis with sales peeking on Monday and dipping drastically by Friday. It would appear that some students just cannot stand school food for very long.
Holly Brown, sophomore, has only one opinion about cafeteria food, “It’s gross and unhealthy. I make my own lunch. ”
The menu is in the hands of The Food Service Director and there are no signs of any changes in selection. Therefore, most vegetarians, diabetics, or just plain picky eaters tend to pack their own lunches if they cannot find anything that pleases them.
Along with people who just do not like cafeteria food, people who like it but do not pay for it are also contributing to price increases.
“Students have come up with all kind of excuses for stealing. The most popular is that, “I just forgot that I put it in my pocket and that I was going to pay for it”,” said Rick Griffith.
No clever excuses came to mind for Tom Parkin, Senior, when he was caught stealing.
“I went to Ms. Barela’s office. She asked me why I was stealing and I told her I just didn’t have any money. She said, ‘That’s a good reason. The food is getting so expensive now because people like you keep stealing.’” Parkin adds with a laugh, “I love Ms. Barela.”
Since no one knows exactly how much stealing goes on, there is no estimate for how much money is lost. However, it is not the only reason the cafeteria loses money. In order to regain revenue, prices have increased since Spring Break on the eight-ounce cartons of juice and milk.
Even sloppiness contributes to the budget. When the high amount of litter students leave requires extra clean up, prices can be hiked up in order to pay for additional staff. All in all, cafeteria prices are in the students’ hands.
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