One of the most exciting times of day for those at Park is lunchtime. Lunchtime provides both students and staff an opportunity to take a break, socialize with their peers and get a much-needed energy boost from the food. Also, as of 2023, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law mandating school lunches be made freely available to all public students in Minnesota. And who doesn’t like free food? All that being said, it is worth noting that not all school lunches are created equal.

For instance, the common school lunch of pancakes and egg omelet. I recognize that many people may not agree with my take on this school lunch, and that’s fine, but that doesn’t change my opinion that this lunch option is one of the worst on the entire menu. First off, the omelet tastes very bland and unseasoned, which is a travesty, especially considering how good a well-made and seasoned omelet can taste. Secondly, pancakes and omelets aren’t even lunch; they’re breakfast items! Why not serve something like this during breakfast and instead leave room for a different item to be in the lunch choice rotation?

The third line at lunch often offers students a variety of options in case you don’t find the main lunch options palatable. Options such as Uncrustables, salads and a variety of different sandwiches, such as roast beef or turkey, are good substitutes that are available in every lunch. The third line also sometimes offers standalone third and sometimes fourth lunch options such as mac and cheese, cheese bites, garlic bread and many other tasty options. I’d rate all these options rather highly; something I cannot say for the school’s burger.

Don’t get me wrong, the lunch burger can be rather filling and tasty, but that’s mostly because you can customize it with a bunch of different burger toppings such as tomatoes, onions, pickles and sauces. The burger patty itself is often dry and underflavored. While it’s not a bad lunch option, I find it to be rather sad that the lunch burger is served so often, especially compared to other options I find superior; options such as the rarely served alfredo pasta with chicken tenders.

Let me start by saying I believe this lunch option is among the best that this school has to offer. It just has so much to it. The chicken, pasta and bread provide a good variety to the meal while also being filling. The Alfredo sauce used is also rather tasty. Another big benefit this meal provides over others is the fact that, from what I’ve noticed, it is often served hotter than other school lunches. You can actively see the steam rising from the pasta, which is very much a positive because the school lunches are often at most slightly warm. This lunch option has almost no negatives, other than the fact that it is barely ever served.

Another lunch option I would rate highly would be the chicken wings (and chicken legs). This is one of the few lunch options I rate highly that is also served often. The chicken wings on their own taste fine, but it’s the addition of sauce that can transform this lunch option from an okay one to a great one. The school offers a bunch of different sauce options ranging from ranch, honey mustard and my personal favorite Franks Red Hot sauce, among others. This lunch option also gives you a lot more protein than others, such as the chicken tenders,s which we are often given three to four pieces of. My only suggestion for improvement would be for a better side to be served alongside the wings, such as french fries.

After reading through and understanding my comparisons and rankings of these school lunch options, it is important to remember this article is just my opinion. Some people have different tastes. Others may not be able to eat certain lunch options due to allergies or other dietary restrictions. Having many different options is important, especially in a student body as large and diverse as this one. Overall, despite my positive opinions and complaints, I still rate Park’s lunches extremely high in terms of its food diversity.