New And Improved School Lunches Have Lowered But Not Eliminated Food Waste

Compared to previous years, the cafeteria has been busy, says Cafeteria Manager John Alexander. It’s “almost back to before covid.” 

The reason that lunch is back? Itʻs probably better food. This year, “the state has finally updated the menu.” Alexander notes. “So we're having some newer stuff.” 

Yet, there’s a new problem: food waste. 

The problem is not just that students waste the food on their trays. Students arenʻt picking up lunches that have been prepared for them, so the cafeteria staff must throw it away. Wasted lunch costs the school a lot of money. School lunches, Alexander said, have become 42% more expensive to make compared to costs in 2020.

According to Alexander, the school pays for roughly $7,000.00 worth of food each week. When I interviewed him, he mentioned that he had just spent about $3,500.00 worth on just fresh vegetables and fresh produce, like fruits and vegetables. He was sad to say that during the first week of classes, “I threw away about $2,500 worth of product. These last couple weeks have been a lot better because more students are eating.” 

“The biggest thing that's helpful,” said Alexander, “is if the students are just consistent in eating lunch.”

“It is a bit concerning how much food goes to waste,” said Brianne Lagazo, junior class president. “I often think about the people out there who need food and there are some people who toss away food like it’s nothing.” 

“...they have got some alfredo going on…”

Last year, Lagazo’s Council helped to advocate for improved lunches in regards to portion size, physical appearance, (to make it more appealing or appetizing), and to implement local foods and local businesses to provide food more familiar to students. 

In the fall of 2024, they organized leadership from every class to sign a formal letter to Don Saito, our menu committee member who represents Maui County Schools. Alexander commented that, “I do think it made a difference. I think it will continue to make a difference.”

This year, new menu items like the grilled chicken pasta, orange chicken, and the chicken and cheese burrito, have students looking forward to eating at lunch. If there are more lunches like this, students say that they would eat more often. 

Before the change, senior Alexander Romo says he “barely ate it at all.”  But now, with the new menu, “Imma eat it more,” he said.

Students are generally commenting positively on the quality of school lunch since the menu change. In a recent Ka Lama survey asking students to rate lunches such as the orange chicken and grilled chicken pasta, many students rated lunch highly. 

Freshman Lily Hardy said, “I feel like last year's lunch (at Lahaina Intermediate) wasn't that good, but this year (at LHS) was definitely better.”

Junior Keyla Jimenez agrees. “They've been better, honestly, like they have got some alfredo going on. It's definitely improved from last year.”

On a scale of 1-10, freshman Keely Benson rated the lunch 9.7. “Yeah, it was really good,” she added. Juniors Daren Bagusto, Dayson Duque, and Jireh Lunes rated the lunch, “10/10,” “100/10”, and “1,000,000/10” respectively. 

While many are positive, some students still think there is room for improvement. Romo said, improving the quality of the dishes would encourage him to eat school lunch more. “ I know it's good now, but like it can always be better.”

Along with that, multiple students remarked that if the lunch looked more appetizing, they would be more likely to eat it. Bagusto said “Just seeing the food that it improved. Better looking food you know better quality food.”

Freshman Sasha Miller said the lunch was “Very bad–jk–itʻs okay.” She added, though, that “sacred hearts was better.” 

Solutions?

Several students have suggestions on how we could reduce our waste on our lunches. 

Sophomore Ayden Elyado suggested “we could go back like (Lahaina) intermediate, we can have those compost bins and reuse them for like the soil and stuff.” Junior Liam Dagupion similarly said to “give it to like the animals, like composting and stuff.”

According to Gretchen Losano, co-founder of West Maui Green Cycle at LIS, “instead of throwing everything away in trash bins, they sort drinks, food, plastics, cardboard trays, unused and unopened items, and non-recyclable trash. Food waste is then carried in buckets to the Zero Waste Station, where it is converted into compost.”

Lagazo mentioned other ways to reduce student-driven food waste, such as having self-serve lunches and educating students more on the importance of reducing food waste. 

Alexander thinks that knowing student preferences will ensure that the cafeteria and students waste less. “At some point in the school year, be honest with me,” he said. “Tell me the stuff that you like and the stuff that you don't like. Because that's ultimately, in my opinion, what's going to make the change.”