Walking taco? Chicken and waffles? Breaded chicken leg? Chunky milk? These are all things that one can find in Edmond Memorial High School’s cafeteria. Because of the wide range of options, the quality of the lunches often varies. After conducting a survey, it was found that the average rating of food quality is a four out of ten based on 77 student responses. 

Even though the lunch lacks, the breakfast smacks according to senior Garrett Crouch.

“The free breakfast served every day is absolutely amazing,” Crouch said. “No better way to start the day than running downstairs and picking up a hot, delectable chocolate chip muffin and an ice-cold carton of milk.”

The chocolate chip muffin is quite infamous, even among the teachers. Senior Lillian Banks often receives a compliment from chemistry teacher T.J. Dortch on how delicious her muffin looks. 

As for lunch, some student favorites are chicken alfredo, Frito chili pie and the walking tacos, but over the year the food has decreased in quality. 

“The chicken/vegetable wraps were really good at the beginning of the year, but then they started to get worse. I would like it if their quality was improved to their old standard,” sophomore Jester Tresner said.

Many students have had complaints about the food being too bland, the milk being chunky and the portion sizes not being big enough. The survey average for how filing the lunches are is four out of ten. 

“Milk is often spoiled and sour and sometimes past expiration. More needs to be done to ensure the health of the students,” freshman Joseph Bax said.

In addition to the health of the students, accommodating their diets is another issue that the cafeteria has. There were many concerns about the lack of options for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, peanut-free and red meat diets. 

“I’m vegetarian, allergic to gluten and lactose intolerant. So I often have a problem finding food to eat in the cafeteria,” sophomore Kambyr Holden said. 

Although the lunches themselves have not quite lived up to the students’ standards, the lunch ladies have.

“My ladies get here early because we are understaffed, and they just want the students to have the best food,” Cafeteria Manager Danyce Chapman said. 

The students’ have noticed this and are appreciative of the work that goes into providing them breakfast and lunch daily.

“The lunch ladies are very efficient and do a decent job of serving food while keeping the line moving,” sophomore Kade Mccormack said. “My experience with the service has never been bad.”

Although some students expect more from their lunches, others are looking to the brightside of the food they are given.

“The food is awful but has potential for great things. We just need a little bit of salt,” freshman Scarlet Vaughn Apple said. 

Contact Hailey Paddock and Makinzy Todd at ruffdraftemhs@edmondschools.net