Alaina Goldberg, News Editor; Jonathan Heinbaugh, Social Media Manager; Sean Kelly and Colby Sherwin, Staff Writers

     At Penn-Trafford, the cafeteria provides lots of food options for students to enjoy while spending social time with friends. Aramark, the school’s cafeteria food provider, puts a lot of effort and time into the way the cafeteria works and how it can benefit students aside from just feeding them.

    William Van Patter is the Aramark Food Service Director and runs the food program for the entire district. He started this position over the summer, working at Penn Middle School and the elementary schools in addition to the high school.

   “Our overall goal is to increase participation in the program through expanding breakfast and lunch while communicating different options, specifically ones that are healthy,” Van Patter said.

        One of the biggest changes so far this year has been the pricing structure. Items that were usually sold together, like a burger and french fries, are now sold separately so that students can purchase fries with any sandwich or al la carte, Van Patter said.

    Senior Sachit Tandon, who left P-T for two years and returned this year, says the food is much better.

    “It really is worth the extra buck if you think about the food they used to serve,” Tandon said.

    Over 70 percent of students agree that the food quality has improved since the switch from the National School Lunch Program two years ago, according to a survey.

   “This really maximizes flexibility in the lunchroom,” Van Patter said. “We are looking for new approaches to determine what else students like and want to see in the cafeteria.”   

    Freshman Sydney McDermott said, “I buy a variety of things [in lunch]. I can’t honestly say I buy one sole item every day. I like that.”

   One way that Aramark received feedback for this purpose is by conducting food demos in the lunchroom.

     “In November, we had our chef Zachary Malavite cook food for students to try. Last month, we offered burger sliders with different sauces to dip in. These were popular; we had them as a part of our FUEL program which usually only sells five to ten items a day,” Van Patter said. “The day after we had the sliders in lunch, there were 50 sold.”

    Thirty percent of students said they buy pizza every day at school. About 20 percent of students said they buy a deli option or the weekly featured item, according to a survey.

    However, looking at what food kids buy is not always the best way to judge if they are eating what they want.

    “If lunch is only offering one kind of a buffalo chicken wrap, for example, and students want to see it with grilled or crispy chicken, or with more spice, we don’t know that, but we want to be able to provide those variations,” Van Patter said.     

    Junior Grace Bender said she wishes there were  more vegetarian options.

     “Diversity in food options is important so no student feels left out or goes hungry during lunch,” Bender said.

     Students complain about the lunch line being too long when they want to be able to get their food in a timely manner. Van Patter has put a lot of thought into this, explaining that the lunchroom follows a bottleneck approach, slowing the process.

    “We timed a student to see how long it would take to get their lunch. For one student, it took four to four and a half minutes to get from the back to the front of the line, paid and with food,” Van Patter said.

    There are points in the lunch line that will take longer than others. The panini line always takes longer, because they are made to order and it is just something students will have to accept if they want the quality of food.

   “We are looking into making a weekly feature sandwich of the week that is prebuilt, so we can just have it put onto the press and serve it, along with a cup of soup students can serve to themselves,” Van Patter said. “This will eliminate the longer waiting time and make the line move quicker.”

    Students argue that the prices are too much when they can pack for less money. However, the food in the cafeteria is reasonable compared to other places. Panera, for example, sells a salad, apple, and drink for $8, whereas the school sells it for $4. Yet, almost 85 percent of students say that the food is too expensive.

    Junior Jacob Burkholder says the lunches are a little overpriced for his liking.

    “The food we make is quality and custom, so the price is equivalent to that,” Van Patter said.

    Sophomore Trevor Taormina agreed with Burkholder saying, “I don’t like to buy that much because of prices.”

    Students at P-T both pack and buy, but more students pack than buy, according to Van Patter. About 22 percent of students pack and buy during the week.

   “Of the 1,300 students here, we only see about one third of them. A lot of students pack but will go up to get fries or a cookie. We want to know what is keeping those students from not buying their entire lunch at the school,” Van Patter said.

   Aramark is often thinking and implementing new ideas. On the first day back from winter break, a new breakfast cart was introduced by the main office. Although it has not seen much business, brainstorming about ways that it could be improved are in the works.

    “We want to expand breakfast in the food court, whether that’s something grab n’ go or using waffle irons. We could even introduce breakfast burritos to spark interest,” Van Patter said.

     The ideas are not restricted to breakfast, however. There is now a bagged lunch option at the grill station with a sandwich, drink, and fries. Also, the idea of hot proteins, like grilled chicken, to put on salads is in the works.

    “We are always working on something while trying to see the value in it and reduce the price,” Van Patter said.

    Knowing this, what is the daily customer saying about the products they are consuming?  Junior Colton Pikovsky, a regular at the pizza line, finds the cafeteria to have more than satisfactory food choices.

     “The speciality pizzas are my favorite and knowing that I am able to get a well-made, unique pizza here is awesome,” Pikovsky said.

     Another student, who prefers to remain anonymous, did not share what she buys in lunch every day.Instead, she shared, “There is not enough food in C lunch.”    

    There are problems ahead that the cafeteria and Aramark team may have to face. Nonetheless, things are moving in the right direction, and with continued efforts, they will stay that way.