By Myah Hesselgesser, Staff Writer
On June 30, 2022, the federal waivers that allowed schools to serve free lunch during the pandemic ended after 2 years. Therefore, lunch prices have returned to $3.30 in Howard County Schools. This change has inspired opinions about if the quality of the school lunches is really worth the amount students are paying.
Some students say that the price isn’t worth the quality they receive. Junior Eni Ojumu stated, “But the price I mean personally if I don’t like the lunch I wouldn’t want to pay that amount even if it’s like three dollars.”
Some of the signature meals that River Hill serves are a chicken patty (with a choice of spicy or regular) and mozzarella sticks with marinara sauce. Eni added that, “My friends and stuff are saying that it tastes bad, it tastes just as bad as last year.”
On the other hand, 10th grader Chloe stated that “the food’s really good.” Students, like Eni, have also commented that, quality wise I mean I think it’s the best as it could be in regards to school lunches.” She went on to say that while the school was providing free lunches they obviously could not serve the best lunches.
Along with this change, students must now use their 6-digit pin code to purchase lunch, unlike last year where they would grab their lunch and directly walk out. If a student forgets their pin number, they can always ask the cashier. Along with this change, Howard County has it so that any meal purchased without a pin number gets charged an additional fee of thirty cents for breakfast and sixty cents for lunch.
Students like Eni have commented about the pricing change of the school lunch stating that, “I don’t really care much.” Other students, like junior Edelyn, didn’t know much about the school lunch changes stating that, “I don’t really know about the school lunch beside, I usually bring my own lunch.”
Some students like Chloe even think that, “it’s better that we are paying for them now.” She goes on to explain that the free lunch system was easier for students to abuse and take advantage of. She even claimed that she has seen people take advantage of the privilege of free lunch that the school provided.
Last year, River Hill had less variety in lunch choices. This year, students have appreciated the added meal choices and snack options with Chloe stating that, “I do like that the snack line is open now. I like that it gives you that option.” and Eni commented, “It looks like there is definitely more options than there were last year.”
All in all, students had different opinions when it came to the quality of school lunch, whether that be it’s bad, good, or if they are just indifferent about it.