Glen Ridge High School has long been a place of few changes. The tradition of excellence motto is the largest source of pride for us Ridgers being the same tradition that we have followed throughout our school’s long history. However, in recent years, the backwards ideas that have populated GRHS have begun to be dispelled, and in their place, new reforms have been instated, the majority of which have been able to vastly improve the average student’s experience. One of the most drastic among these changes was the complete change made to the cherished lunch break that keeps the students fed and happy.
The most important of the lunch reforms is the update made to the menus. On top of the previously offered lunch line staples, such as pizza, popcorn chicken, and wraps, new items have been added, including hamburgers, chicken fingers, and the sandwich of the day. The new items can prove slightly healthier and vastly more delicious than those featured on the previously limited menu. The lunch line menu, while the major subject of the new reforms, is not the only thing that has changed, as the snack shack has also been updated. Now there are new additions to the beloved bagels and cookies, cinnamon rolls, bacon egg and cheese sandwiches, and funnel cakes that are served. This is, of course, without mentioning the new drinks and chips that have been added to the menu.
The new menu is provided by Pomptonian Food Services, the go-to food supplier for all of Glen Ridge’s best public institutions. While its most popular featured items, of course, include the unhealthiest Monster Energy drinks and funnel cakes, the primary goal of the menu is to provide healthier options to the youth of America, who find themselves in dire need of such choices. Whether or not the students will accept the gifts that the menu and its delicious but greasy smiley-fries can provide is the true question.
While the lunch reforms provide great and healthier food that, on paper, the students of Glen Ridge High School should be able to enjoy, in reality, the new food options have resulted in many troubles for the Ridgers. First and foremost, the healthier choices that the cafeteria is now providing are far from the most popular options, with funnel cake generally being more popular than the nutritious sandwich of the day. This is not the only unfortunate truth regarding the new lunches. The other is the unfortunate trend that has begun: pilfering mozzarella sticks or fries from their containers without paying for -or wanting- the full meals. Apart from being the world’s most insignificant form of robbery, this proves to be an issue for paying students who purchase expensive meals and deserve them in their entirety.
While the lunch line reforms are an excellent attempt on the part of the school to improve the lunch experience for everyone, the sad reality of the situation is that the students of Glen Ridge are unable to responsibly accept them.
