As the spring sports seasons begin, one thing becomes apparent at Park: the contents of lunch. Many have wondered whether school-provided lunches meet the ideal conditions students need, especially student athletes. Many have often criticized the lunches and claimed they lack sufficient standards giving a far from perfect reputation.
According to Park teacher and strength coach Jessica Gust, lunch meals are meant to meet basic nutritional needs, but they are not made for students who participate in various physical activities. She said individualized nutrition plans are important to ensure that students are properly fueled for their activities.
“I wouldn’t say (school lunches) are bad, but they may not always be sufficient to support the higher energy demands of athletes,” Gust said.
Junior Jacob Skelly, a track and field captain, said having good nutrition is important for school athletes because it affects how well they can perform during practice and recover.
“Proper nutrition really affects how an athlete can recover and how they’re doing it,” Skelly said. “You really need to make sure that you have a balanced diet so that you can do well at practice, and push yourself to achieve more.”
Sophomore Maris Bolin said he worries about the quality of lunches and suggested changes to the lunches to replace them with better alternatives.
“(To improve lunches), new foods could be added,” Bolin said. “They need to change it, make it better by improving the quality of the food. My number one concern is (the) lack of overall quality of the food.”
Gust said the importance of nutrition for student-athletes, noting that while training and sleep are vital, diet plays a pivotal role in optimizing performance.
“Nutrition is probably the most important part of optimal performance,” Gust said. “There are three key components: training, sleep and diet. For teenagers, diet is often the most deficient, and once athletes figure out how to fuel themselves properly, it makes a huge difference in their performance.”
Skelly said Park lunches last year were not very good. According to him, the lunches offered at Park affected how the athletic season went for students.
“Last year, when we didn’t have a lunchroom, most were just eating peanut butter and jellies all (of) the time because that was the only thing that tasted good,” Skelly said. “(Lunch) was not good for those athletes today, with really high calories and really high sugar.”
According to Bolin, the lunches were not that bad but could be much higher in quality. Bolin said he questions whether Park should divert money to the lunches rather than extra expensive renovations.
“The food they have isn’t bad. It’s not the highest quality, but they just don’t cook it long enough,” Bolin said. “Most of it feels cheap and just slapped together to fit the requirements. Instead of (Park) putting more money into the building, maybe put some more money into the food. We have enough furniture for now.”
