A majority of students can be seen milling through the lunch lines, trying to get their food before the next bell sounds. But do they really know anything about the meal they’re lining up for?

All cafeteria food corresponds to DeKalb County School standards and is mandated by the United States Department of Agriculture School Meal Initiative. The meals themselves are selected by a county planning committee, which meets four times a month, to plan meals according to nutritional guidelines. 

“They also hold tests at random schools throughout the county to try and get an idea of what kind of foods students might like,” said cafeteria manager John Townsend. 

This year the majority of the food that Chamblee High School receives comes from the vending company Cisco. A small percentage comes from USDA itself. 

“Every year the school takes bids from different vending companies and then purchases our food from the best bidder,” said Townsend. 

Many students have no clue about lunchroom operations but have a lot of say about the school food itself, what they find acceptable, and what could and should be improved. 

“The only food that I eat is the wings, and sometimes the chicken nuggets, but other than that everything just looks nasty, so I just ate the subs,” said Nicole Allio. 

The monotony of the meals also seems to be an issue that students feel needs to be addressed. 

“It’s like the same thing every week, starting off with pizza and ending with chicken nuggets, and nachos somewhere in the middle,” said Ryjean Reid.

The school does have some options like vending machines and snack bars, but those too have their own county-regulated stipulations, so some students feel there is nothing like a lunch from home.