Set into the middle four periods of the day, students find lunchtime to be one of the most sought after parts of their day, whether it is to unwind from school, study for an upcoming test, or to eat.
This year, the high school has transitioned to working with Quest Food Management Services, a food service program seeking to provide “fresh, high-quality food, exceptional responsiveness and intensely personal service,” according to their website. The rest of the school district, according to Joe Blomquist, Director of Business Services, has also switched food providers, but is working with Whitsons Culinary Group.
“The school district is required every five years to seek out proposals for food service if the school is part of the National School Lunch Program. Our elementary and middle schools are a part of the program, but our high school is not,” Blomquist said. “Since we needed to seek proposals for our K-8 schools, we determined it was a suitable time to look at both the K-8 food service program and the high school program at the same time.”
The process for choosing a new food service company was selective, as it “involved a careful analysis of written proposals and in-person experiences,” according to Blomquist. The proposals were evaluated by administrators based on areas important to the district: “how the provider engaged students in decision-making, availability of healthy and made-from-scratch menu items, sustainability efforts, and overall cost.” Four vendors were selected as finalists.
“[There] was a series of on-site visits by students and staff to each finalist to observe and taste the food offerings,” Blomquist said. “This phase was very important because we wanted to hear from high school students what they thought of the menu choices and overall experience that reflect the service we would see if they were to be chosen to come to Lake Zurich High School.”
With the new food options implemented at the beginning of this school year, students have had some time to try out the updated menu. Aarushi Bhagath, senior, says that she has enjoyed it more than last year.
“Something I like about the new lunch is that it’s cooked straight in front of you, especially when they do the stir fry day. You know what fresh ingredients [are put in] and that it’s cooked properly,” Bhagath said. “[That] makes [me] what to eat [the food] because it’s warm and fresh.”
Like Bhagath, Likhith Donapati, senior, agrees that the change has come with better quality food, seeing some improvement in the taste and increase in quantity. However, though the new lunch menu has been an upgrade in some regards to last year’s lunch options, the higher cost can be a deterrent.
“It is expensive, paying $5 per meal, or sometimes even more. Not including the pizza, which $3.50 isn’t that bad because it’s a pretty big slice, there are times where I’m just like, ‘oh, that is really expensive’ and then I don’t [buy] it,” Donapati said.
Despite some of the changes that switching food service providers have brought, as of right now, Blomquist says that the change has “been a successful one,” and will continue to ensure that students are receiving quality lunch.
“We are getting some feedback from students on the positive and negative changes affecting their lunch experience,” Blomquist said. “We [are working] with Quest on a regular basis to try to address some of these concerns, and they have been very responsive.”
