As Park continues to update and refurbish inside the classroom, they are also renovating outside the classroom – the lunchroom to be specific. Park’s effort to overhaul the cafeteria and kitchen came with the caveat of students having to relocate to eating lunch in the Activity Center, the gym, every day. Dozens of lunch tables spread across the wooden floor, three sprawling lines of serving stations conquering the front of the musky room, and hundreds of students cramming their way through the tight walkways make this a very unique change. A change that I welcome, and consider to not impact the student’s day significantly.

The previous lunchroom felt considerably small for how many people filled it everyday. Lunch lines frequently extended out the door, and maneuvering past people willy-nilly was a common occurrence. Now having moved to the gym, a much bigger space, the lines are much more manageable and the tables are more spread out. This leads to a much nicer dining experience and an abundance of space to move around comfortably.

A notable concern from last year’s discussions surrounding the upcoming changes was the switch to cold bento boxes instead of a hot lunch. Although the lunch is still cold, it’s not as severe as initially anticipated. The sizes are substantial – there have been complaints of portion sizes in the past and I think this is a slight upgrade. While the variety of menu items may be somewhat limited, including options like Uncrustables, chicken sandwiches, chicken wraps and salads, the consistency and quality of these offerings meet respectable standards for school lunches, at least in my opinion.

The biggest challenge with this transition is the bottleneck that occurs when getting to the gym. Contrary to the old lunchroom, which had entrances on both sides, there is now only one narrow entrance leading to the gym. The combination of the crowd exiting lunch and the eager students rushing in creates a huge slowdown that is excruciating to navigate. A solution seems unlikely as they can’t make the hallway wider, but efforts have been made to stagger the lunch exit/entry times more to mitigate the congestion.

In conclusion, the relocation of lunch to the gym hasn’t necessarily been an improvement, but it also hasn’t been a catastrophe. These changes have brought their own set of challenges, but have offered some advantages, such as increased space and slightly better meal portions. While the lunchtime experience may not be significantly better, it also isn’t considerably worse. It’s more about adjusting to a new routine and making the best of the situation.