Lunch is a meal and part of the day that everyone looks forward to; it is a moment to relax, eat and take a break from a busy day. 

At Bridgewater-Raritan High School, students are given several options for the lunches they eat. These options include bringing lunch from home, buying lunch at school and, for seniors, buying lunch outside of school at a local food vendor.

Some people prefer to bring lunch from home since they can pick what they want to eat each day. Additionally, they do not have to wait in the long lunch lines to get their food. People who bring lunch from home can easily go to different places and club meetings with their food always on hand. 

Freshman Aahana Anupam spoke about the benefits of bringing lunch to school.

“Personally, I feel like bringing lunch to school is easier because you get more options for what you want to eat, and you don’t have to wait in the lunch line for long periods of time in order to get food,” she said.

Another option offered at Bridgewater-Raritan High School purchased lunch at the numerous school cafeterias. People who buy lunch have many options to choose from, and they can buy food at many places around the campus. The large cafeteria, the small cafeteria, the main office and the 1000 building all have places where people can buy lunch.

Furthermore, students have a variety of food to choose from for lunch. There is the main hot lunch that changes every day and vegetarian lunches that changes every week. There are also salads, sandwiches, burgers and pizza that are regularly available every day. In the large cafeteria, there is the option of a pasta lunch, where students can choose between the sauces that they want or choose to have the pasta special for that day.

Junior Agastya Shahane shared his thoughts on the school lunch.

“School lunch is very beneficial for students because they get an alternative to eat at school when they don’t have the time or resources to make it in the morning. Still, while the food is never gourmet quality, it gets the job done and creates a fulfilling culinary experience for the student,” he said.

Seniors, on the other hand, have the option of going out to eat during lunch since they have open campus privileges.

Some spots nearby that seniors like to visit for lunch are McDonald’s, Chipotle, Cava, Starbucks, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Dunkin and more.

Senior Julian DiMaggio recalls some places that he has enjoyed eating lunch at.

“One place off campus where I see a ton of people is Lil Pickles in Bedminster, it’s a bagel shop that also makes really good sandwiches. A decent number of people also go to Kettleman’s for lunch, and I know people also go to McDonald’s for lunch. Personally, I don’t really have a favorite place to eat off campus, but I do love going to Panera during lunch,” he revealed.

For school lunch next year, students generally want to see more Asian food options and more options for ice cream. Additionally, students want vegetables that are cooked in a variety of ways with a variety of seasonings to increase the amount of meal choices.

Overall, students approve of the current lunch options and hope that, over time, small improvements can be made to make school lunches even better.