For the 2021-2022 school year, the United States federal government ran a universal free lunch program that made lunch free in all public schools. This came to an end on June 30th, 2022, with Langley being no exception. Removal of free lunch has been met with relatively uniformly negative reactions from parents and students alike. 

“The student reaction is very much negative, nobody really likes that they’re doing this,” said Evan Watson, senior at Bloomfield Hills High School.

This sentiment has been common among many students and families who pay for school lunches. At Langley, two mozzarella sticks and a container of broccoli costs $3.99. Some believe that this is simply too much to pay for school lunch, when considering the quality of the food.

“It’s awful. It’s so soggy, it’s bland, it’s wet” senior Jacob Melvin said.

Melvin often brings his own lunch because he dislikes the food served in the cafeteria. Some students who are fed up with the poor quality of food served  have searched for and found alternative ways to eat, such as leaving the campus to pick up food or ordering it to school. Students may face punishment, however, if they are to leave.

“There’s better food available in downtown McLean 5 minutes away,” an anonymous student who leaves campus for lunch said.

Despite the possible penalties they face, some students are still willing to exit school grounds in order to get a higher quality meal than one provided at Langley. This has caused some problems with administration as the students are not meant to leave during the school day.

The price of school lunches is a point of contention all over the country, with many calling for it to once again be free for all students. One concern brought up is that, even if school lunches were free, would students still eat it or would they continue to obtain lunch from other sources? 

“No, I don’t like the food. I can go somewhere else and get better food” the anonymous Langley student stated.