Anyone who regularly buys food at school knows that the lunch program has its share of problems. The food is expensive, supply is limited, and quality is mediocre. However, the lunch program does not deserve the level of criticism that it receives from the student body.

In a recent poll, students voiced a variety of complaints, some of them reasonable, some of them not.

By far the most common charge was that the food is of low quality, especially in relation to the price.

Certainly, you wouldn’t find food from our lunch program at an upscale restaurant, but do you really expect filet mignon? With only two food service employees and hundreds of students to feed, the focus has to be on quantity rather than quality.

And no one forces you to buy food at school. Get up 10 minutes earlier and make your own lunch if your objections are so strong.

Another popular complaint was that the food runs out quickly. We don’t doubt the accuracy of this criticism, but students must understand that two people simply do not have enough time to prepare enough food for all 471 students in the lower, middle and high school, and the school cannot afford to employ more workers.

If you want the food, get to the lunch room more quickly. And, teachers, please let students out promptly at 12:05 so that they can get there in time.

The last common criticism was that the food is unhealthy. However, everyone except the freshmen can remember last year’s experiment with healthier food. Food service director Jennifer Adams removed daily hot entrées, chips and cookies, and she beefed up the salad bar and soup and sandwich options. How did the student body respond to these changes? We didn’t buy the food! The drop in student purchases was so dramatic—Adams estimated around 20 percent—that the food program quickly reverted to selling junk food. And now students are once again clamoring for healthier food!

The food program stocks whatever sells well. Adams has a difficult job and follows student desires to the best of her ability in picking food. If those choices don’t satisfy you, then don’t buy the food. It’s that simple.