School lunches have been available for West students without charge since 2021, and as of last school year, the Universal Meals Program became a statewide program that ensures breakfast and lunch for all students. After a survey among West High students, 73% of the students surveyed utilize this program. Although they get free lunches from the school, not all students enjoy the food they are served.
The only part of the school lunch with no complaints is the drinks, as 0% of the student sample voted for it as their least favorite part of the meal. The most disliked part of the lunch is the sides (typically consisting of cold kidney beans, an individually packaged roll, or the occasional cracker snack), with 64% of students who get school lunch saying it was their least favorite part. Runner up was the fruits and vegetables, with 21% of students saying it was their least favorite.
Out of these students, 45% throw away any food they do not want. Throwing away edible food is not the most sustainable way to dispose of unwanted items. “I think the best way we could avoid food waste is if we had a compost,” junior Kimberly Matasol suggests. One hundred percent of the students surveyed were in favor of composting leftover food on campus.
How else can we prevent food waste? “Bringing in more variety and quality foods, or don’t force students to get something from the salad bar that they don’t like, especially if the options aren’t popular,” sophomore Amya Shepard says. “Most of the food I see thrown away is from the salad bar, so if you’re going to keep making students pick something up from the salad bar, at least make the choices favorable.”
“Instead of throwing away food, we leave the unopened food and give it to those in need,” suggests junior Amadea Sanchez.
Senior Analaya Cadigal had a similar thought. “I think a table to give away unopened food is a great idea. Often, students are still hungry but cannot go in the lunch line a second time while other students who do not want something provided will throw their food away.”
There is no perfect solution to save all the unwanted food, but there is progress that can be made to improve this issue at West High. Systems such as a student compost or a redistribution table in the cafeteria can help lower the amount of food wasted.
