Lunch is an important meal for everyone because it gives us the energy we need to continue through the rest of the afternoon. Students from NAHS were asked about their opinions on the school lunches here, how often they eat them, and what they think the district can do to improve it.

Sofie Tigranian said, “I eat school lunch sometimes and it’s not that bad, I just feel the district could put more money into it. At the end of the day, kids are coming out of a two-hour class period.”

Arya Javashi stated, “I eat school food often. One time it gave me food poisoning and I think they should give us less vegan stuff, and add more meat.”

Xavier Brown answered, “I sometimes eat lunch and I don’t really like it. They should make it more organic and enjoyable.”

Christian Madamba said, “I eat school lunch all the time and I think the school should add a bigger variety to the options.”

The cafeteria workers are critical to the educational process by providing students with nutritious meals. When asked about the behind-the-scenes of how each meal is prepped and chosen, cafeteria worker Maria Antekelian was happy to explain it. The Los Angeles Unified District (LAUSD) downtown picks the school lunches, makes the recipes, and prepares the menu for each year. The school cafeteria workers have no say in what they serve students. Antekelian also stated, “We follow the rules. Whatever the menu tells us to make, we follow it with the instructions from the cookbook the district gives us.” If students and parents want to contact the LAUSD Food Services the link is: https://www.lausd.org/page/852