This editorial represents the opinions of 14 of 14 Outlook editors
In the past two years, there have been significant upgrades within Aragon’s cafeteria that the Outlook commends.
The efforts of the cafeteria staff to supply the student body with fresh and well-balanced foods are evident. The majority of menu items are now made from scratch instead of being pre-packaged, with the cafeteria staff only outsourcing a few items.
With this shift towards house-made items, fruits and vegetables are now more integrated into meals, rather than handed off in a separate bag. Fruits are also made easily accessible to students who don’t want to go through the full line, with a cart near C hall.
Further, several students have praised the food at Aragon for overall flavor — especially since the meals are free, as a result of the 2021 Universal School Meals Program Act. This means many more students who would not have been able to bring food from home sustainably, are able to get meals from school instead. And given the aforementioned increases in nutritional benefits, this allows many to not only have convenient access to food, but food that’s free, appetizing and nourishing — saving them the time and resources from having to prepare food themselves or in more serious cases, saving them from not eating at all.
Even with how many students are in line, the cafeteria staff is still able to work quite quickly, with their 18 student workers distributed across days and the two large food stands near C and D Hall. This ensures that students are still able to enjoy the bulk of their break time — and this efficiency starts from the preparation part itself.
“We are more organized … each [person] here knows what [they] have to do,” said Nutrition Services Lead Raghda Zumot. “We don’t have to just finish our task and then wait [until] somebody tells us what to do. We jump from here to here, without asking [or] waiting … which makes our job really easy.”
Most importantly, the Outlook is very appreciative of the constant trend of improvement. The staff takes feedback both directly, through talking to some students at the window, or indirectly, through their student workers. Actively seeking these student opinions has resulted in a greater prevalence of menu items that people enjoy.
The cafeteria staff evidently places much focus on providing greater varieties of food items from day to day, making more meals from scratch and incorporating more nutritious elements — making school brunch and lunch much more enjoyable experiences.
