At Arrowhead, multiple options are offered at lunch each day. Everyday, lunch occurs during fifth or sixth hour of a student’s schedules. Some students bring their own lunch from home, or bring something to heat up in the microwave in the lunchroom, and some also buy the hot lunch offered. However, this raises the question of whether the hot lunch at Arrowhead is healthy/ satisfying to the students.

In the cafeteria, students are offered a “home-cooked” entree choice that is prepared from scratch. In addition to this there is a choice of hot sandwich/panini, tater tots/fries, or pizza.

This week, the hot entrees included teriyaki chicken on Monday with brown rice, green beans, and a dinner roll; roast beef and rach rap on Tuesday with potato wedges and carrots; crispy chicken caesar salad on Wednesday with steamed corn and garlic bread; buffalo popcorn chicken on Thursday with tater tots, peas and roll; and baked ziti with cheese on Friday with broccoli and garlic bread.

The pricing per item in the lunchroom varies; however, this is a set price for a “meal” at Arrowhead. According to the poster in the Arrowhead lunchroom, in order to create a meal, students must have a fruit or vegetable (or both), and another food such as a protein, grain, or milk. Overall, the meal must have a minimum of three food groups. The price of one of these lunches is $2.65.

There is also a sub-bar where students can pick their choice of bread, cheese, meat, and toppings for a hot sandwich as well as a hot nacho/taco bar.

To drink, there’s a fridge with  V8, teas, juices, milk, and flavored waters. For dessert, there’s cookies and a frozen yogurt machine.

On a healthier note, there are pre-prepared salads and fruit parfaits in the fridges; however, there are limited amounts. Students can also make healthier choices by getting whole wheat bread or putting veggies on their sandwiches.

Amanda Catalano, an Arrowhead senior says, “There is one healthy option and that consists of a pre made salad which comes soggy and wilted. It consists of some ingredients that not every student likes, so they then have to pick those ingredients off. I wish we had an open salad bar with fresh lettuce and a variety of vegetable choices. It would certainly make it easier for students to make healthier choices and lead a healthier lifestyle. This new salad bar should also have a variety of salad dressings to choose from. Right now, the so claimed salad bar consists of lettuce and ranch dressing. I know a lot of other schools have this option and the students enjoy it, and make their lunch from it everyday.”

Catalano also says she wishes the prices of lunch were lower. Her account is constantly running out of money. Catalano says she does appreciate, however, that there are fruit options such as apples, pears, and bananas each day.

Elli Kollman, an Arrowhead senior says, “There’s a lot of choices at lunch and all of them are pretty appealing to me. I usually get tacos if I get hot lunch, but I normally bring cold from home and buy things to eat along with my cold lunch.”

Kollman also says she misses the cookies that she says used to be a big hit among students; however, she says they were recently taken away for a healthier cookie option that is not as appetizing.