by Michelle Brooks | staff writer
A new breakfast line has been opened to help anyone who arrives late to campus to grab breakfast and get to class on time. The new installment is primarily supposed to solve the issue of tardies but it can also help seniors with late arrival.
“Grab and go breakfast is actually used on a couple of other high school campuses in our district to not only provide students with another option, but to hopefully speed up the process with some students getting breakfast and being able to get to class as well,” assistant principal Sean Reno said. “I think it’s also used on other campuses, and I can’t speak for them specifically, but it’s used on other campuses potentially for students who have first period with late arrival where they can also have a breakfast option if the cafeteria has to be shut down at that time. There’s a number of reasons for it to be used. For us, we are also using it for a number of reasons as well.”
This new option can provide breakfast for students who usually get food on the way to school and stop them from collecting so many tardies.
“I think that would be a really great option for this school, especially because most of the time when I am late, it is because I decided to get the things like breakfast because it’s hard to go through the day without having something to eat because then you’re drained and you feel like you can’t do anything,” senior Megan Valdez-Crader said. “Breakfast is a big part of the day and I feel that if they have grab and go breakfast, it would be really convenient and help me get to school on time.”
Although there are many reasons students are late to class, this option can help stop breakfast from being one of the reasons.
“Most of the time it could be because I either slept in or getting food or traffic, and just things like that. Plus, I have to park far so that takes time from my car and the time to get to my first period class,” Valdez-Crader said.
The faculty is hoping that creating this option will encourage students to arrive on time instead of cutting into class time to get food.
“I hope so. Bottom line is a student has to want to be on time to class. I can’t change, necessarily, their will to do that,” Reno said. “We would hope that all of our students would want to be in class so they can learn and be on class on time so they get all the information they need. What we’re really doing is providing another option for students who don’t necessarily come to the cafeteria, but are in the courtyard. But also, for students who hop into line right before the bell rings to give them an option to grab food and still make it to class.”
The location of the new addition was a big question but the faculty figured that the courtyard is the best place.
“The courtyard ends up being a good place for us right now because we have two existing food service areas that we’re not using right now, so we have a place out there that already exists, it’s on the way to class, and really this time of the year with weather it shouldn’t impact too many mornings for our students be able to get food from that line,” Reno said. “We shouldn’t have any freezing weather at this point in the year. So, it should work well for students to be able to get to class after getting their food.”
Effective on March 27, students feel that the breakfast grab and go option will be successful and appropriate.
“I think that it’s very useful and effective because so many kids are so big on food and everybody loves breakfast so I feel like having something convenient in here and very quick would be great,” Valdez-Crader said.
However, one issue with the grab and go breakfast option is whether teachers will allow students to eat their food in class.
“I feel like the grab and go [breakfast] is good if you have a teacher from 1st period that lets you eat during class. But if not, it’s not as beneficial,” sophomore Evan Armstrong said.
The teachers were told that they did not have to change their rules on food in their classroom because it’s an extra option for the students.
“Teachers do not need to change their policy regarding food. Again, this is a choice that the students are making regarding what time they get to school. So, a food policy the teacher has in a class does not change,” Reno said.
To make time for everything a student wants to do in the morning, it is suggested that they come earlier or manage their time to avoid getting reprimanded by their 1st period teacher.
“This is grab and go, eat on the way, and the expectation again, is time management by the student to be able to get to school, get their food, and get to class, and some of that may actually mean less socializing, can’t walk everywhere you wanna walk, if you don’t get to school on time to do all those things, you need to grab your food and get to class. Teachers do not need, and they are aware of this, they do not need to change their food policy in class. Now some teachers do allow for some snacks and that’s fine, but the student needs to know what the policy is in that class as well and make the right choice for them to be on time,” Reno said.
Another possible cause for concern is that because of its location, the availability of the grab and go breakfast line is dependent upon the weather.
“It probably depends on the weather. If it rained and stopped in that 30 minute window, then we’ll open it up and get students that opportunity to be there. If it rains and it’s a continuous rain during that time, we’ll probably just have to have students come in the cafeteria and get their food just like they would’ve had to before we opened this line,” Reno said.
The food options offered in the grab and go breakfast will be altered to make it easier for students to eat on the go.
“We will have water, milk, and juice purchased daily there. The main entree, like food option, will change and we’ll include things like cinnamon buns, maple pancakes, chicken biscuit, sausage biscuit, waffles, sausage on a stick wrap, things like that. So that entree will be a little bit different than what’s in the main line because some of the things that are in the main line are not necessarily breakfast that you can wrap up. So these lean entrees will be food, like some I just listed, [that] can be wrapped up and go,” Reno said. “Some of the consistent items that are your pre-packaged blueberry muffins, banana bread slices, granola bars, and cheese sticks will always be there. So a student can go out there and purchase their breakfast.”
The grab and go breakfast also serves as another option for the kids who just want a different choice.
“Now, if the student wants what’s in that main hot line, they need to be there on time to get it and obviously, the students can always choose to go out there and grab what’s in the line, they might like what’s in the grab and go breakfast line more. But there’s gonna be a healthy option out them for them to be able to get some food and go. But, it won’t always be exactly what’s in the line inside the cafeteria,” Reno said.
Having a variety of the different options for entrees can be beneficial for people who have a hard time choosing a regular breakfast line.
“I think that’s fine because that’s just another option to have instead of trying to force yourself in the lines of something. Because it’s right there and you can just get it and go to class,” Valdez-Crader said.
