Mario's and Robbie T's Trumps School Lunch

What they serve for school lunches doesn’t make the list of favorite meals for the students at Jamesville-DeWitt High School. The lunch students in the cafeteria buy are probably not the first time this food was intended for purchase. On the contrary, you could be purchasing leftovers from the previous day. Day one could have been chili, day two the chili leftovers now are on top of spaghetti. That doesn’t sound too appetizing now, does it?

Being in school from 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. is a long time. A student needs food for energy, and good brain food at that.

You would think our school would support these necessities. Well, it seems to feel, or taste, like they don’t care. It’s not like J-DHS goes above and beyond the good tasting healthy zone for their students and faculty. It’s more like they go below.

Luke Sala, a sophomore at J-DHS doesn’t approve of the cafeteria’s way in making sure everyone has the same portion of food. “The marinara sauce has gotten worse. Now it’s just watered down so it doesn’t cost a lot to serve everyone.”

So, students are turning to Mario and Salvo’s or Robbie T’s. It isn’t just because the school lunches taste like “nuclear infusion,” says sophomore, Julen Bascaran, but because you are more likely going to get a much better meal and deal.

In school, the lines are monstrous depending on which side of the cafeteria you choose. The snack line is particularly the favorite, therefore, the line is as long as the Great Wall of China or so it seems. Why? Because you know what you are getting when it comes in a sealed bag over something mysterious from the hot lunch lines.

Another problem brought up by Christian Sias, a senior at J-DHS, is that your stomach never gets full, or even satisfied. “School food here isn’t exciting as having a hot, freshly made pizza. It doesn’t fill me up. The mozzarella sticks come in threes mostly, which doesn’t fill me up. Pizza does,” says Sias

The sizes of the school lunches do not live up to the requirements your stomach needs so it is full, or even satisfied. This causes students to spend more money on junk food that is useless and fattening to your body. Buying pizza is more expensive compared to the two dollars a student spends on one lunch meal. However, if you split it with your friends it can cut the cost down so it’s around $2 for two slices or $3 for three slices. Not a bad deal.

“Because we have the option, we might as well spend money on what we want instead of what we don’t want,” said Michele Burgwin, a sophomore at J-DHS.

Pizza is served for school lunch, but that’s a rare occurrence and it’s one piece. The students understand the "stay healthy" atmosphere, but if students are eating more junk food due to the lack of quality and quantity in the school lunches then no one is achieving that goal.

With pizzerias such as Mario’s and Robbie T’s, you know the food will be fresh. Unlike school food, you usually always feel that satisfied feeling after eating a nice, warm, cheesy slice. Mmm.

Austin Tousaw, a J-DHS sophomore, loves his pizza. “School pizza has nasty cheese and Mario’s has amazing, scrumptious cheese.”

I think it’s funny how when there’s lunch, such as a fish patty or a rubbery hot dog and French fries, few people eat the fish or hot dog. This leaves the fries, which people of course consume. As I was observing the lunches for this article, I realized there were more fries gone than fish or the fish was left on the tray with a little nibble taken out of it and set to the side. What a waste of money for both the school district and the students. Not to mention the parents who believe that their child is getting a nutritious school lunch.

“Mario’s is so much better, so why spend my money on nasty hot dogs?” said Kristin Redmond, a sophomore.

So there you have it J-D: our lunches flat out aren’t filling, unless you double up or even triple up on the chips, which isn’t nutritious. Sure, chips and junk food taste good but that isn’t the type of main meal you need to get healthy and get energy from.