Chatham High School’s free lunch menu includes a choice of entree, choice of fruit, vegetables, and milk.
A lunch menu each month is issued identifying different meals throughout the week.
Some students feel some meals do not belong on the menu for various reasons.
The majority of students expressed a dislike for hot dogs, grilled cheese and soup; chicken burger, and chicken tenders.
“I feel like the chicken tenders should be removed; the portion sizes are horrible, and it just isn’t a healthy option,” Jaime Semental, senior, said. “I think what would help is if they provided more fresh food in general.”
Similarly, “The chicken tenders are always hard and you literally can never bite into it. The portion sizes are horrible, too.” Michael Ortiz, junior, said.
“The hot dogs are disgusting; they’re clearly not made from real meat and are so overly processed,” Logan Perry, senior said. “It honestly makes me scared to eat it. I wish the school would replace it with spaghetti or macaroni and cheese.”
Likewise, “The hot dogs are the worst. They do not feel or taste real, and it honestly makes me want to throw up,” Eva Ince, junior, said. “The bread is always super hard or soaked. I just end up more hungry than I was before because who wants to eat nasty hot dogs with chocolate milk?”
“The grilled cheese tastes and feels like plastic. Why is it always stiff like a rock instead of being melted?” Cody Rook, freshman, said. “I wish they would just use fresher ingredients instead. I would rather just wait until I get home to eat instead of putting myself through torture.”
“The grilled cheese and soup is the worst,” Audrey Erickson, senior, said. It is always cold, never seasoned, and the cheese is never melted. I think what would help is if they used real cheese, and if they added at least a little bit of seasoning.”
“The chicken burger is so nasty,” Alex Smotherman, senior, said. “It is so clear that the chicken is fake, and I’ve never been able to eat it. I don’t even see the point in them trying to improve it. They should just get rid of it and replace it with something better.”
