One night at 8 p.m., after I got home from my volleyball game, I stood in my kitchen struggling to find the components of a meal. I looked for an apple and yogurt for my school lunch the following day. The last thing I wanted to do was spend time finding ingredients for lunch the following day when I had to study, shower, fold laundry and cook dinner.
I didn’t worry about making lunch during my first few weeks at the high school. I would typically eat lunch at places like Pete’s Apizza, Coffee Nature or District Taco. At the time, off-campus restaurants seemed like a fun and convenient lunch option. I was able to spend time with friends and would arrive back on campus with about ten minutes until my next class.
Soon, however, I realized I was spending too much money. I spent about $200 on lunch in the first three weeks of school.
Tenleytown restaurants may appear moderately priced. An acai bowl from South Block costs about $12. Lunch spots like Coffee Nature, Five Guys and Seoul Spice sell similarly priced $12 wraps, $8 burgers and $13 bowls, respectively. However, even if you buy lunch at an average Tenleytown price two times a week, you will spend about $100 per month.
During middle school, I would bring lunch from home two to three times per week. At the start of the week, I would check the cafeteria menu and plan to pack lunch on the days I did not like the meal. I could spend more time assembling lunches because I wasn’t as busy. Regular sports practices ended at 3:30 p.m, and I didn’t need to study for as long.
The other week, I scheduled a last-minute meeting that ended up taking the full lunch period. I had planned to go out for lunch that day, so I didn’t think to pack food. I ended up waiting until 3:15 p.m., when we were allowed to use our phones, to buy myself instant ramen from the vending machine. I didn’t have cash or a card. My best option was ramen considering the vending machine other options aren’t very filling: Belvita Biscuits, Hot Cheetos and Skinny Pop are among the available snacks.
Even the weekly lunch vendors don’t solve the lunch issue. A few weeks ago during lunch, I attended a club meeting which ended up running way longer than I had expected. I planned to buy a smoothie bowl from the Playa Bowls vendor in the internet cafe. By the time I was done with my meeting, Playa Bowls was sold out. Vendors don’t solve the cost issue of lunch at the high school either. One Playa bowl typically costs about $12 to $15.
Students already juggle assignments, extracurriculars and sports. Whether we buy or bring lunch, we are burdened by the stress: Lunch is one more thing to worry about in the busy school day. If GDS were to build a cafeteria, the school would do its part to alleviate some stress from the lives of high school students. Students could still go out and buy lunch or pack a meal from home, but they would always have a free meal they could get at school.