The majority of students mainly agree that the school food could be greatly improved. To better identify what exactly is wrong with the food, I will be grading the school’s food based on a random sampling of student opinion. This isn’t meant to be attacking the staff/menu, this is just to better understand and possibly better the food offered at public schools.

Grading rubric:

I will only be judging the lunch items, because of how many more students get school lunch than school breakfast. The food will be judged off of taste, texture and assembly. All of the grades that I will be giving will be in context of school food. I will not be grading the vegetables that come with the meal. I will also will not be changing anything within said items. This includes taking out items, adding anything within the item (such as condiments), and things that cost extra to add. This could completely change the taste so I won’t be adding them. I will then be averaging out the grades to get a final score for the entirety of the menu.

Grades:

Offered daily:

Chicken Sandwich: C-.

The bread was lacking in both quality and texture and dulled down what little flavor the chicken had. The chicken itself was only OK, Lacking flavor but not too dry. The sandwich had nothing except bread and chicken, making it taste like just a chicken nugget in a bun.

Cheese and Pepperoni pizza+Buffalo chicken pizza: B+

The cheese pizza is nothing special, just a cardboard pizza crust, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Pepperoni isn’t much different, but pepperoni tastes good so it adds points. On the other hand, the buffalo pizza is very good. It’s something different compared to the other pizza’s and it’s arguably better. It would be better if it had a better crust, if the chicken didn’t have a questionable texture, and if it had more buffalo sauce. Even with all that, it is still superior to the other pizza’s offered.

Meals of the day:

Burger+Fries: D.

The burger has a questionable texture, it’s chewy yet has some weird bits that taste almost rubbery. The cheese tastes almost plastic and sticks to your teeth. The bun had weird white stuff all over it (???), it tasted so chewy but at the same time borderline stale with a bad taste. The fries on the other hand were very good. They were scarcely seasoned but the fries had a pillowy texture that saved this meal from an F.

Chicken/Beef burrito bowl: D+

The chicken had a questionable texture but an OK taste. The beef  tasted ok but had the texture of taco meat which did not go well with the rice. The rice tasted over cooked and undercooked at the same time. It was so bad it ruined what taste the chicken/beef had.

Chicken nuggets+Mashed potatoes with gravy+Dinner roll: B-.

The chicken nuggets weren’t the best, the breading was soft and soggy but the taste was OK. The mashed potatoes tasted like they came in a box and you just add water to it. The gravy saved the taste when it came to the potatoes. It had a great texture to it, and even better flavor. The dinner roll was ok, nothing spectacular but fit well with the meal.

Chicken Alfredo: A-.

The pasta itself was very over cooked, but the sauce was amazing. You could taste garlic in the sauce and it had a creaminess that was yummy. The chicken again had a questionable texture. The breadstick was also amazing. It tasted like an Olive Garden breadstick for comparison. Not like the ones you get in house but the ones you can buy in the frozen section at a grocery store, but still good nonetheless.

Orange chicken+Rice: B-.

The orange chicken tasted very good. The chicken didn’t have a weird texture and tasted crisp even with the sauce. The sauce was so good, not to sweet and stuck well to the chicken. The rice was bland and had no flavor. It dulled down the chicken’s flavor which was very disappointing.

Maple waffles+Eggs+Sausage+Home fries: A

The waffles were good, had good texture and tasted good. The eggs were rubbery and lacked flavor. The sausage was very good, had an ok texture but had great taste. The home fries were amazing. They had a great crispiness to them and lightly salted.

Average score: B-/C+