Lunch. A time of day that many would consider the best part. The middle-of-the-day pick-me-up that we all need. From a nice sandwich to a refreshing salad, the opportunities to explore the lunch menu are endless. Lunchtime in school is especially exciting, as it gives students a break from all the learning and a chance to socialize with their friends. The scent of school lunch food as you enter the cafeteria is unmatched.

Going through Stamford Public Schools my whole life, I can certainly say the cafeteria food I have witnessed is something I’ve never seen in the outside world. There are quite interesting options every day and I can’t say that we have the most appealing choices. How do these options though compare to other schools around us though? I spoke to students at other schools, both public and private, to find out. 

First I took a look at the lunches right here in Stamford. On a daily basis, there is a main entree, pizza, a sandwich, and a salad option. There are also a plethora of fruit

and vegetable sides to offer a balanced meal. Despite our various options though, it’s evident that our meals usually fall short. The blob of chicken messily placed on our pizza is a bit concerning. “I really only ate the chicken off of the pizza. It wasn’t even that good, to be honest,” said AITE senior Dylan Cummaro. The “curry” chicken was more of a lame attempt at introducing different cultural foods. Overall, I’d say that our food is teetering on the edge of real vs. plastic and I can’t say I’d recommend it to anyone.  (Disclaimer: This is not our lovely lunch ladies fault, blame Chartwells.)

Quite different from the lunch at Stamford schools is the lunch at Greenwich schools. Unlike Stamford, there is a vas

t spread of different options for students to choose from, displaying the clear difference in wealth between the two school

districts. At Greenwich Academy, there are endless options of delicious lunches to

choose from. They have a salad and sandwich bar, hot entrees, and even an ice cream machine. Right down the street at Greenwich Country Day School, they offer similar options. Hot chicken tenders and fries lined the bar for students as they entered the cafeteria. Similar to the dining halls at colleges, these private Greenwich schools offer choices much different than here in Stamford.

Onto the next wealthier town, Darien delivers lunch choices similar to Greenwich and considerably different from Stamford. When students at Darien High School enter their cafeteria for lunch, they can pick from pizza

to chicken to even hot pretzels. Varieties of chips and snacks can be chosen to pair with different sandwiches and salads. They even offer desserts such as fresh brownies and chocolate chip cookies for students to end their lunch with a sweet treat.  “The lunch at school is pretty good, for the most part! I buy lunch probably two or three times a week depending. I would recommend it,” said Darien High senior Matthew Reynolds. Like the Greenwich schools, the cafeteria represents that of a college, giving students endless options each day. Being that Darien High is a public school, it’s clear that the difference in class between Darien and Stamford is the reason for this artisanal spread.

A little bit further northeast, Masuk High School in Monroe serves food closer to that of the Stamford schools. Like Stamford, there is usually a hot entree, sandwiches, and pizza. On this particular day, Masuk served an interesting

“casserole” dish with egg, cheese, and the choice between sausage or bacon. My friend steered straight away from that though and decided to go with the safer option: a turkey sandwich. “The

 sandwich was honestly superb,” said Masuk senior Amanda Scorza. “The hot lunch option was concerning though. We certainly do not have lunches as boujee as other towns around us, like Westport. But the sandwiches are always my go-to.” 

It is clear that compared to other school districts around us, our food is possibly the worst. With the difference in tax brackets and wealth, there’s a clear explanation as to why this contrast occurs. Unfortunately, for Stamford students, unless you bring a lunch from home or move to another district you’ll probably be stuck with our cafeteria “food.”