One of the most challenging decisions that students at Upper Darby High School face on a typical school day is deciding what to have for lunch. In the cafeteria of this suburban-Philadelphia school, students have a wide range of choices. For $1.15, they can enjoy the lasagna, one of the two featured pasta dishes for the day. Alternatively, they can opt for the day’s platter, which consists of baked flounder, rice, and broccoli, priced at $2.25. The school lunch program at Upper Darby, managed by ara Services Inc. for over a decade, is a prime example of the efforts made by food management companies and district-operated programs to increase student participation.
At Upper Darby, where more than 70% of the school’s approximately 2,500 students purchase lunch daily, the key buzzwords are "variety" and "student choice." The lunchroom, designed collaboratively by the district and ara, resembles a food court in a shopping mall. It features several compact cafeteria lines, each clearly labeled with signs showcasing their offerings. While waiting in line to pay for their meals, students can also enjoy the Oscar-nominated film "Field of Dreams" playing on one of the six video monitors in the lunchroom.
A small pink kiosk allows students to purchase slices of freshly-made pizza, while an identical kiosk on the other side offers deli sandwiches. Across the room, the kiosk with the longest queue entices students with cinnamon buns, hand-dipped ice cream cones, and other delectable treats. Unlike most school districts, Upper Darby is not part of the federal school lunch program, which provides subsidies for all lunches at participating schools and additional funds to cover the cost of free and reduced-price meals for underprivileged students. School officials decided to leave the program in the early 1980s, when federal budget cuts diminished its financial appeal for many schools.
As the district is exempt from federal guidelines that regulate the quantities and types of food offered daily for reimbursements, the entire program functions on an a la carte basis, with students only paying for what they eat. Consequently, school officials, cafeteria workers, and teachers note a significant reduction in the amount of food wasted by students. The a la carte arrangement also means that less popular food items, like vegetable side dishes, are not available every day. "People come in here and say, ‘You don’t serve vegetables’," comments Angelo Nicolaou, an ara employee who works as the food-service manager. "But kids don’t eat them." Timothy H. Daniels, the assistant superintendent for business affairs, states that the district has received few complaints about the quality or price of school lunches. Likewise, there were minimal objections when the district chose to withdraw from the federal lunch program. Daniels notes that fewer than 10% of the district’s students qualified for free or reduced-price meals.
In addition to increasing student participation, ara has managed to lower the district’s costs by employing the food-service workers directly. Ruth Buzzelli, the shop steward for the union representing these workers, confirms that their salaries remained intact, and older workers were permitted to retain their district benefits, including pensions. However, newer hires receive a less comprehensive medical plan and do not have access to a pension scheme. Despite the wide range of choices available to students, most of them give the food mixed reviews. "A lot of people say that it’s not very good, but I disagree," remarks Danielle Condron, an 11th-grade student. "The pizza is good but expensive."
"It’s just institutional food," shrugs Chris Falcone, also an 11th-grade student. "What can you do?" Yet, his friend Jon Fiedler, another junior, has a different perspective: "They really make an effort here, and that’s commendable."
