Have you ever wondered: What happens to
the uneaten food left in the School Cafeteria? Is it just thrown away? Is it recycled somewhere else? Well here’s what you want to know…
What are the student’s opinions about the school lunch? According to a junior Frank Palacios, “It depends on what the lunch is. If the lunch is mac and cheese, it's horrible. If it's like a sloppy joe, pizza, or hot dogs, it's not that bad, it generally depends on what the school is serving.” The way students view their lunch is based on how it is served.
Another opinion from another junior, Brandon Bagara shared “It’s generally bad. It’s not fresh. They used some packaging stuff, and they got horrible food. I'm sorry, but it's just not good.” With Bagara’s view on school lunch, he seems to have a negative view of it.
Alden Kalohano Fernandez, Farrington High School’s Cafeteria Manager shared his thoughts
on the school lunch. “Yes it is healthy because there is a dietitian and we have to follow strict guidelines so everything is counted for salt, sugar, fat, calories, everything is pre-set in one week for every single week so that's why there are very specific items and serving sizes.” This confirms the school lunch is healthy and based on a strict guideline from a dietitian.
Fernandez has stated “The products come from Y. Hata & Co. or Ham Produce and Seafood companies. Other vendors around the state also supply Farrington’s school lunch.” The cafeteria workers arrive at school at 6 in the morning and start prepping lunch, but not too early. They have a fast process of half an hour to pack the kiosks before lunch.
The last thing to wonder is, what happens to the uneaten food after lunch? He said that it is thrown away and not recycled. “The leftover food has to be thrown away otherwise there's a strict guideline to cool the uneaten food down to a certain temperature, but Farrington doesn’t do entree sales the next day in the cafeteria and has to cook as much as they can.” Fernandez has admitted that the school will most likely not have a program to recycle the leftover food.