Student petition drives updates to MSJ’s cafeteria lunch menu

By Staff Writers Amy Han, Mansi Mundada, Megha Vashisht & Lucas Zhang 

Introduction

For as long as MSJ students can remember, the cafeteria had served the same food: a combination of daily staples, alternating specials, and a salad bar that comply with the Federal US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s nutritional guidelines under the National School Lunch Program. Aside from one or two rotating daily specials, the menu offered few options beyond the required items. Although the meals met minimum federal standards, many students felt that their lunches lack freshness, variety, and flavor. In response to these conditions, some students took action to petition MSJ administrators to improve the school’s free lunches.

Origins of the Petition 

When Junior Joseph Miao’s friends from Irvington sent him photos of their school lunch in January, the difference between those meals and the ones offered at MSJ was immediately clear. Compared to MSJ’s repeated daily offerings of items such as grilled cheese sandwiches and veggie nuggets, other high schools in the district offer more variety; for instance, Irvington High School serves chicken sliders with macaroni and cheese, chicken and waffles, and Western burgers with onion rings, and American High School offers cheesy pesto pasta with chicken, Korean bibimbap bowls, and a mushroom Swiss burger. “The photos of the food my friends from other schools sent looked a lot more appealing than MSJ’s,” Miao said. 

Cafeteria lunches on campus include a weekly average of at least five cups each of fruits and vegetables, 10-12 ounces each of grains and protein, and a serving of milk every day. However, at MSJ, students must combine multiple options to meet USDA guidelines for adequate servings of each food group per USDA’s guidelines. While meals that include daily offerings and salad bar items can theoretically provide filling meals, many students often ignore the additional items when getting food. “Some people do take stuff from the sidebar, but a lot of people don’t. They just take the meal [without grabbing any milk or salad bar offerings],” Freshman Audrey D’sa said.

Implementation of Changes 

Motivated by this discrepancy, Miao started a digital petition on the platform Change.org on January 28. The post argued that other FUSD high schools receive higher-quality meals than students at MSJ, pushing for more delicious meals on campus, claiming that “MSJ students are expected to accept the bare minimum.” After receiving 100 signatures within two weeks, FUSD administrators directed their attention to the appeal. To address these student concerns, Principal Amy Perez contacted FUSD Director of Child Nutrition Services Johannes van der Pool and gathered a few students to create a Lunch Feedback Student Panel to share ideas and feedback about the MSJ menu.

After discussing the issue with van der Pool, “[Miao] explained that MSJ students were not getting the same selection as the other [FUSD] high schools because [MSJ] has been short a chef at [their] school site, and so they couldn’t prepare the foods in a timely manner,” Perez said. Van der Pool is currently working to hire a new on-site chef, a process that includes completing background checks and required training, which is expected to begin in the coming weeks. Because of this lengthy process, the full implementation of any updated lunch menus will take time once staffing is in place. In the meantime, students will continue receiving the current lunch menu. 

However, once staffing is stabilized, FUSD will be able to standardize school lunch menus to ensure MSJ students have access to the same meal options offered at other high school campuses. In anticipation of these updates, the Smoke Signal conducted a poll to assess the student body’s thoughts on the issue. According to the survey results, 73% of MSJ students supported the upcoming changes to the school lunch, and only 5% of students opposed it. These results indicate broad student approval for the upcoming updated menu. 

Conclusion 

The recent additions to MSJ’s school lunch menu reflect the impact of student advocacy like the Lunch Feedback Focus Group. Miao’s petition highlighted disparities between the quality of meals across FUSD, prompting MSJ menu updates that are more satisfying and nutritious.