Everyday, during break or lunch, students line up in front of the cafeteria to either buy a snack or a meal. Everyday, lunch ladies hand out the snacks and meals to the students. Everyday, the same two or three lunch ladies and the same group of students. Cafeteria ladies, also called nutrition service assistant, make sure that foods are warm and ready the minute someone steps into the cafeteria. Throughout the years of being a student, the one staff that many people will probably see twice a day, every year are lunch ladies. As a result, students and staff grow a gradual affection towards the one lunch lady they go to every day. On the other hand, cafeteria ladies also grow a liking for the constant students that come to buy a meal. Kasie Collins (Staff) describe her favorite part as “being able to see the kids grow up.” Kasie Collins has been a dedicated lunch lady since 1998. Many of the ladies all start as a stay at home mom, being able to spend time with their child. Ruth Manrique (Staff) chose to be a lunch lady “because [she] liked to work with kids and also it worked out with [her] children’s schedule. Ruth comes to school at 9:30 am every day to prepare the food students will eat. To clarify, food is not made at the school by the lunch ladies, they are made at a central kitchen then shared to each school.

Though, there has been numerous rumors and complaints that cafeteria food is unhealthy for a student. In reality, foods seen everyday are made fresh with care and love.  Fresh fruit and veggies, real meat, right out of the oven.  As a person that buys lunch everyday, meals are without a doubt the best part to a long school day. Don’t complain or make any rude comments about lunch foods, that is just rude and very inconsiderate. As a matter of fact, there are people that actually enjoy the hard effort put forth to create these delicious meals.

In Yorba Linda High School, there is a wide variety of foods to choose from. Whether it is Chicken Alfredo or just a regular cheese pizza, students have a choice in what to eat. However, most of the foods are general foods eaten by everybody. In most countries, lunch menus depend on the culture of that country. For example, Italy’s typical lunch menu consists of pasta with tomato sauce, Caprese salad, or a Baguette. Japan’s lunch menu mostly consists of fish and rice. South Indian lunch meal consist of white rice, Sambar, smoked gourd vegetable, curd, and Kesari. The list goes on… School Lunches, wherever they are, all are unique in their own way.