Take a trip through Victoria Gardens. There are restaurants everywhere, with options for different people groups and their choices. How does that compare with Day Creek?  Do lunches at school fit us?

Many students say no, for a variety of reasons.

Aminata F., an African-American student at Day Creek, stated, “Well, I don’t see them as cultural…but I see them as everyday meals for [students].” She also suggested a cut in price off of bottled water.

Nicole L., a student who is Hispanic, said, “They’re good. Add more vegetables, some more snacks.”

An Asian-Vietnamese student named Brittney L. shared her point of view as well. “I guess they are cultural, but not all the time. They have a mixture of everything like Chinese, Italian, Mexican, and American. I don’t really like them all the time, I feel like they should actually cook the food, not just buy it and heat it up. It’s not that they don’t taste great. They don’t taste like how it’s supposed to be.”

Maralyn O. said, “Sometimes, they have Chinese food. I’m not sure it’s real Chinese food. And some Italian, and tacos like Mexican [food]. I think they’re good sometimes. I like the mozzarella sticks, that’s good. But I don’t know if they actually cook it or just heat it up.”

Carina C., an Indian student, said, “Yes, they seem cultural, but they tasted [not cultural]. I think that the nutrition there is pretty good, but the foods don’t really have a [cultural] taste to them. I think a little more thought could go into it. If I could improve school lunches, I wouldn’t put milk in bags, and put more [cultural] taste in teriyaki chicken. I know they work so hard, but we can try different things, not just the same old things.”

Lynelle G., an Asian student at DCIS, has shared her thoughts about the school lunches.  “They are half and half. They have food like pasta and spaghetti and American food like french fries and chicken nuggets. It’s not [exactly] cultural. I’d add sushi and also Chinese food.”

Despite the students opinions, the school lunch staff’s belief was completely opposite.

“I love when the students enjoy their lunches. It means that we’re doing something right about it. [If there is something wrong] it is an opportunity to improve. Most problems are fixable. We try to do a wide variety: Asian cuisine, American, Spanish, a variety of foods. [If I were in charge], I would bring back the items that we used to have, like the popcorn chicken,” said Joe DeAngelis, one of the staff members.
Many kids say that they don’t have a problem with a lack of cultural variety, but they do agree there is something missing when it comes to lunches. But the question still remains: are the lunches right for you?