School Lunch Rush: Cafeteria Chaos and Alternative Eats

This year Leonia High School has changed to a single lunch session, which raised concerns for students. During this new lunch period the cafeteria has been jam packed and the rest of the students are scattered around the hallways and the Little Theater. Luckily LHS students have many off-campus alternatives as to where they can purchase affordable food during lunch. 

Student opinions about seating in the cafeteria when the Little Theater is closed were varied. According to Senior Daniel Alley, “I don’t like the seating arrangements during lunch when the Little Theater is closed and the cafeteria is full because there is nowhere to sit and the hallways are crowded.” 

Senior Maile Wright says, “It’s terrible when the Little Theater is closed since there’s nowhere to sit unless it’s warm outside but it’s starting to get chilly.”

Junior Anabella Garcia states,“I never sit in the cafeteria because it’s always full. I go to the Little Theater and eat my lunch” and when asked about the times the Little Theater is closed she says, “When the Little Theater is closed there’s where else to sit other than the floor in the hallways or outside and sometimes it’s cold so that’s not even an option. The cafeteria gerd packed the first 3 minutes so i never thought of that as an option to sit.”

Students also felt awkward about how the lack of seating in the cafeteria affects their lunchtime experience. While asking freshman Montana Mason, who is new to the high school this year, she says “No one is able to sit anywhere during the bad weather when people have to stay inside there’s nowhere they have to go. The cafeteria is already crowded and the fact that the lunch lines are so long they go down the hallway and makes it so much harder to get lunch when I need it”. 

But there is some good news: There are many affordable and close alternative locations that students are able to go to. Maile Wright stated that, “Snackstop, the deli in town and Chipotle in Fort Lee are good options for walking or if you drive.”

Daniel Alley said  “In a 10 to 15 minute walking distance there is Rumba, Happy Market, Miso Ban, and Dunkin Donuts.” Daniel also went on to say, “For the students that drive they can go to Englewood and pick up some fast food,” including McDonald’s, Chick Fil A, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s, Playa Bowls and Firehouse Subs.”

We asked Vice Principal, Mr. Servis, about his first impressions of the all-lunch period. When asked how he feels about students wandering the halls and leaving their food everywhere during lunch, Servis said, “I hate it, in fact if I catch students doing it they’re going to get a saturday school. Everyone was advised of this and to clean up and [we want to] make sure the school looks beautiful.”

In response to the overcrowding issue, Mr. Servis said, “We’re getting more seats, [and putting a] lounge area in the back part with more tables and seats.”

Lastly, when asked what VP Principal Servis expects the students to do or where do you expect them to go during lunch time when the Little Theater is closed, he said “Eating out if it’s nice, eating in the hallways if they are clean and not disruptive.”