This summer, Boerne ISD received a federal grant allowing the district to join with the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to provide free lunches to all students in the district. The NSLP is a federal program that provides food for over 3 million children in Texas. According to Champion cafeteria manager Gwendalyn Murphy, this program has allowed Champion High School to provide more than 700 meals a day.
Boerne ISD has always provided free meals to students who qualify. However, this year the program grew so that it incorporated all Boerne ISD students, and most seem to enjoy the free options.
Freshman Riley Stewart said they should, “make more spicy chicken sandwiches.”
The cafeteria offers a wide variety of meals, including spicy chicken sandwiches, bean burritos, ravioli, and more. However, recent issues concerning food shortages and understaffing in schools across Boerne ISD have made it more difficult to provide diverse lunch options for so many students.
While all lunches are free, students must select items that meet program requirements.
“You have to have three things. I usually get a meal, chocolate milk, and fruit,” said sophomore Emrie Krouse.
As a result of the free lunch program lunch lines are now more crowded and less systematic.
“It is unorganized compared to previous years,” said Krouse. “Lines are longer and people cut, and no one does anything about it this year.”
Many report that students often bring their own lunch and then get a free lunch as well. While there is no problem with this, many students have started utilizing this program to get a free side and have been wasting the rest of their meal.
“A lot more people go in [to the cafeteria] now that it’s free. Even kids that still have a lunch go because it’s free,” said sophomore Trent Adamson.
While there are a few drawbacks, the addition of free lunches this year has been widely accepted amongst the students.
Freshman Sofia Schnoke is “glad they added free lunches this year because I feel like they are really making the school a better place to learn.”
The cafeteria staff think that free lunches are a good thing for the school.
“It’s a wonderful idea. Every child should be able to get a free lunch,” said cafeteria manager Gwendalyn Murphy. “Some kids actually bring in their lunch, but they still get a lunch here which is perfectly fine.”