CMSD NEWS BUREAU

10/18/23

Complaining about school lunches is a rite of passage for most students in any American school district. Here at CMSD, students voiced their disdain for the cafeteria food directly to the CEO during the October 5th Student Advisory Committee meeting. 

“We really feel like school lunches are a problem,” Chardon, a 12th grader at Cleveland School of Science and Medicine said to a cheering crowd. “We deserve and absolutely want higher quality foods.” 

Chardon claimed that a lot of the food that students are offered is processed. 

The food commentary was a part of Dr. Warren Morgan’s Listen and Learn tour, where he asks students, parents, and district stakeholders several questions, including what works well at CMSD and what needs improvement. 

These students were so passionate about wanting school lunches to improve they challenged Dr. Morgan to eat a school lunch so he could judge for himself. 

He accepted. 

A week after the challenge was made, Dr. Morgan made good on his word. He ate lunch with the men of Ginn Academy. 

Dr. Morgan, who is a vegetarian, opted for the rice of the orange chicken meal  and also selected steamed broccoli, apple sauce and sliced apples for lunch.  

During the meal, he asked students what food options are usually on the menu and what they disliked. 

David, a senior, said he didn’t like the cheesy bread. 

“Pizza and chicken sandwiches are always an option,” David said. 

He also told Dr. Morgan the portions are too small for athletes who burn a lot of calories while fueling their participation in sports. 

“The portions will get us to the game, but they won’t get us through the game,” said David, who plays on the golf team.  

Dr. Morgan said he enjoyed the rice dish. But he also said he will need to do further research in order to get the full lunch experience and see what may need to change.  

Clearly, the CEO lunch challenge is not over.