Since the beginning of the new school year, Princeton Public Schools have served free lunches throughout the district. In April 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that free meals would be available to all public school students this year.

The free lunches helped to streamline the process of getting food to students who relied on free- or reduced-lunch vouchers when the cafeteria first shut down during the pandemic.

“Last year, since we didn’t have food service at the school, we drove around to all the homes, and we did [meal kit] drop-offs. We [also] had some parent volunteers [who] would deliver some of the food directly to the homes,” Food Service Bookkeeper Danielle Borromeo said.

While the total amount of funding is unknown, not having to pay for lunches inevitably increases the number of students who choose to get school lunch daily. During pre-pandemic years, only about 200 students purchased lunch each day; that number has now increased to more than 700.

To meet the high demand and to address looming COVID-19 concerns, PHS’s cafeteria staff have consciously made changes during the first month of school. For one, the options in the cafeteria have been significantly abridged.

“What we’ve boiled [the meal plans] down [to] is the requirements: a grain, fruit or juice, vegetable, and milk. We [used to] have a lot of our cart foods like grab-and-go french fries, potato chips, [and] cookies that we [had to] do away with,” Borromeo said.

To decrease the spread of COVID-19, the cafeteria also now operates in a “grab-and-go” fashion. As soon as students take a pre-packaged entrée of their choice, they can quickly move out of the line. Cafeteria staff members are required to wear gloves and now masks when preparing food, and instead of using the register to keep track of meals, have now switched to pen-and-paper tallies.

Administrators such as PHS Principal Frank Chmiel will often walk around, either talking to students or announcing the day’s options. Chmiel voiced that after a hectic first week in the cafeteria, the administrators knew some changes needed to be made.

photo: [credit name="Emily Qian"]

“[During] the first couple days, there were big crowds of kids, and one day we ran out of food. [After that], I started going back to the kitchen ... [I was] literally one of the people bringing out cases of sandwiches [and] stocking sandwiches ... because I personally wanted to see that everything was running smoothly,” Chmiel said.

Many obstacles that come with adopting the new food services are unseen to students. For instance, coordinating food deliveries is stressful due to the high demand for food at PHS. The options for suppliers are currently low due to the ongoing pandemic. To ensure that all students get their meals, Borromeo needs to ensure an exact amount of lunches are being delivered each week.

“[Because] supply is low and demand is high, we’ve had to cut back on deliveries; there aren’t enough drivers to bring food to the schools. [Our] main supplier used to come to the district twice a week, but now they only come once a week,” said Borromeo. “It’s been hard because I have to keep going back to [order more], but [many] items are always out of stock. I don’t think people understand that it’s almost like a gamble to try to get everything.”

Nevertheless, cafeteria staff members strive to provide high-quality lunches to students. With the addition of an on-site chef this year, some students have remarked that the food quality has been quite consistent.

“I’d actually compare the sandwiches a lot to Subway. It’s nothing gourmet ... I don’t think there should be an expectation of gourmet service, but it gets the job done. And for the hot meals, the dish varies, but [at least] it’s hot,” said Elliot Becker-Peeler ’24.

Student opinion has been mixed. When asked about the convenience of the free lunches, students say that being able to get lunch from the cafeteria relieves the stress of having to take time to buy or pack lunch every day. However, some students have noted that longer waits in line are a major drawback of the free lunches. Upperclassmen have also remarked that past years’ lunches were much better in quality.

“It’s annoying to need to wait in a line, but compared to making lunch at home, which I did the other years, it’s much quicker, and it’s nice because I don’t need to wake up so early,” said Ned Erickson ’22. “But I prefer the pre-COVID year [lunches], especially the fries. It’s really a tragedy that we don’t have those fries anymore because those fries were iconic and you could just get them for one dollar.”

Some students have also mentioned that the vegetarian options are not as satisfying as they would like them to be.

“I think that [the] vegetarian food is a bit lacking because all of the sandwiches except the falafel sandwich contained meat. And most entrées except for the salad, also contain meat ... So that I think it could be better handled because I used to be vegetarian for years. You’re kind of forced into having one thing,” Becker-Peeler said.

Another new challenge that the school faces is maintaining social distancing within the cafeteria, particularly within the lunch lines. While there are several teachers and administrators on standby to guide students in the lunch lines, students agree that the lines are overcrowded.“

[The atmosphere is] definitely chaotic [and] competitive, [with] a lot of people trying to cut in line ... you [have to] fend for yourself,” Erickson said. Waiting for long periods of time has also raised concerns among several students. Many agree that protocols must be enforced strictly to keep the risk to a minimum. “The COVID-19 restrictions are totally not in place. It’s crowded. There are ten people in one square meter ... Despite having this screen on a desk, eight people [can] still sit at the same table,” said Cody Jiang ’25.

Both Chmiel and the cafeteria staff assure students that as the year continues, they will work to address the criticisms made by students. In fact, many new improvements are already in the works. In addition to the cafeteria and the stand in the PAC lobby, which are currently only serving sandwiches, a third serving area, the building administration is adding a Tiger Grab-and-Go to provide food for students.

Still, no matter what opinions students have about the lunches, Chmiel hopes that students can show gratitude for the tireless efforts of the cafeteria workers.

“When you’re receiving the [lunches], it’s important to show that appreciation to [cafeteria workers] because they’re not known otherwise, yet they’re doing arguably the most important job of the day,” Chmiel said.