Last November, an estimated $60 million was cut from the NYC Department of Education’s budget, affecting school lunches citywide by removing popular food items from the menu such as cookies, chicken dumplings, and bean and cheese burritos.
Mayor Eric Adams announced that the funding would be reallocated toward managing the migrant crisis in New York, covering the costs of housing, food, and education for more than 170,000 immigrants.
“I was shocked and disappointed because we already don’t have a lot of good lunch choices,” said freshman Akankha Banik. She said that without these more popular choices students will eat less at school: “Not eating will definitely make Townsend Harris students feel weaker throughout the day.”
“It’s like the fun parts of the plate were removed, which is upsetting,” freshman Guadalupe Castro said. “I’m also not as excited when I go to the cafeteria.”
Apart from less appetizing options, Guadalupe said that the changes will impact students during the school day.
“This would also affect my energy level because I go to the school cafeteria starving since I have [lunch] 8th, and not having a lot of options is disappointing,” she said. “This lowers morale because there are students who look forward to eating a well-balanced meal, and not having such an opportunity is sad.”
According to The Guardian, the DOE plans to continue these $60 million school lunch cuts for the next four years.
Though many Harrisites find this abrupt change disappointing, others said they do not feel as affected by it.
Senior Danica Torres said, “These changes don’t affect me much, and will go on to affect me even less if I keep bringing leftovers from home. …I feel that school lunches have always been like more of a snack for me. Other people probably think the same. If you’re aiming for satisfaction, go elsewhere.”
Junior Matthew Williams said, “I won’t be affected too much since I bring my own lunch. However, not eating is going to weaken the morale, performance, physical health, and mental health [of other students].”
Bringing lunch from home, even before the budget cuts, has always been a popular form of lunch for many Harrisites, especially those dissatisfied with the school lunch. However, that might not be a viable option for students.
“It wasn’t really an option [to bring food from home] because I hate preparing food,” said Danica. “I also don’t have much time, [but] when I can, I bring leftovers. I believe that people won’t change up their habits because of the budget cuts. It’s basically the same food.”
“[Students] will probably buy food from somewhere [else] before or after school,” Matthew said.
