Valentina Rodriguez

Though free lunch sounds amazing, students go through hurdles like leaving class early or going to the outside carts to get the best options. The students want improved line organization without the “me first” attitude. “The people who choose to cut makes the lines more cluttered and slower,” Maximus Vargas (12) said.

When the 2021 school year began, the Chino Valley Unified School District (CVUSD) started to provide new entrees, faster breakfast, and free lunches. The changes resulted in students scrambling to receive their food, however, the disorganized lines are leaving many upset.

As much as the idea of getting a free lunch seems amazing, students have to go through hurdles to get the best options whether that be leaving class one minute early, getting food from the outside carts, having friends save their spot, or cutting lines.

“It looked very messy and it moved very slowly,” Gavin Gloriani (10) said. “I don’t eat lunch from school a lot of the time, but when I do, I get mad at the idea of using the lunch lines.”

The frustrated students believe the crowd needs better line organization, especially outside, to prevent cutting that slows food distribution. The frustration comes from people with a “me first” mentality who struggle to wait in line.

“[The carts] make the main line less messy, but the line issues still continue, which makes getting food even harder because they have less food storage there,” Maximus Vargas (12) said.

Other students agree that the outside carts prevent lunch lines from crowding. However, improvement could be made by increasing cart lines or adding more carts to avoid disorganization and conflict. With the issues persisting, students constantly wonder how the problems can be mended, if it’s even possible.

“More carts, if it’s possible, with more storage so that they don’t run out of food so quickly, or maybe vending machines with actual food rather than snacks so more people can get food [should be added],” Ariana Guebara (12) said.

Other ideas to prevent the lunch line discrepancies include line dividers to help maintain order and prevent cutting, or a staff member or security guard who can manage line organization during busy times. Some students are even considering bringing lunch from home, if they can.

“I still try to get lunch from the school, but only when the lines are short. If they’re not, I either wait, even though that means I get less options, or I just don’t get lunch at all,” Vargas said.

Starting from the school year back from the pandemic, the introduction of free lunches has caused many inconsistencies among students. However, disorganized lines are causing students frustration as they navigate obstacles to access desired food options. Students express hope that the lunch lines will show improvement in the near future.