The lunch lines have constantly been a topic of conversation among students. The difference from last year’s student population to this year’s has affected the size of lunches. 

“Last year [the lunch lines] were not nearly as long or took as long to get through. This year you are lucky to have 10 minutes to eat. At least in my lunch, because I have third lunch,” Kat Brent, 12, said.  

Students who have the last lunch of the day, or a classroom that is a further distance from the cafeteria, have a disadvantage.

“Sometimes there is less than 15 minutes of lunch time by the time you get through the line, especially for the kids that are clear on the other end of the

school building,” Emmalee Davidson, 10, said. 

Getting to lunch on time is a struggle for some students, which causes them to be put at the back of the line. Beating the crowd is something many students try to achieve. 

“If you are in the back of the line you have less time, and if you are in the back of the line, you might not get the things that you like or want,” Alyx Bailey, 10, said.  

The behind the scenes of the cafeteria is unknown to many people. The increase of students this year has caused the lunch staff to work even harder to

make sure they are prepared every day.  

“We keep records of everything and what meals we have and what it’s up against; like if it’s up against Minskey’s or cheeseburgers. We try to guess-timate how many entrees we are going to need. Last year we did around 600 entrees on a good day, anywhere from 400 to 600 entrees, and this year we are doing 700 to 900. It has almost doubled,” Carol Griffith, food service worker, said.

Getting the job done day after day takes many sets of hands. The staff members that students see as they get their lunch work together every day to make sure things are running smoothly. 

“We try to work as a team in here. Sometimes it works and sometimes there’s different opinions, but we always work as a team. Since [the lunch line] is bigger this year, we’ve got to prep more food and always be on our toes,” Curtis Maynard, kitchen manager, said. 

The lunch staff has been adjusting to the change in lunch sizes, which causes them to alter the amount of food they need and learn how to keep the system running.   

“We hope that the kids and the parents give us grace, because it is a learning curve with this many students. The numbers have almost doubled, so just try to be patient because we are trying to make sure everybody’s fed,” Griffith said.