Photo Malia Rodriguez

An example of school lunch which consist of mac and cheese, a single bread stick and juice.

Returning to this school year, one of the many things I was excited about was free lunch, due to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). However, when I walked up to get my food, I realized there was no hot food I could eat. Recently, I decided to try being a vegetarian for many reasons which I know would limit my meal options, but when I go to get food at school why am I choosing between a burger, pasta with meat sauce and a sloppy joe?

In the 2010s, we saw a large push for healthier school lunches. This included having balanced meals with good portion sizes of vegetables and fruits, having more whole grain breads and overall, just providing healthier meals. The problem is, that a large portion of the country is vegetarian or vegan. Even though Tampa is rated the 8th most vegetarian-friendly city, school lunch isn’t represented in the meals we serve.

Now obviously there are still things I can eat. I can opt for one of the chef salads instead, however, it has come to my attention that they are only available on certain days. I could eat an Uncrustable Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich except those aren’t filling at all and are rather unhealthy. On a typical day, the vegetarian options for lunch are tater tots and potato chips.

This issue isn’t new, nor is it just mine. Robinson IB English 2&4 teacher Eric Smithers has been a vegetarian for a lot of his life and struggled with the same thing when he was in school.

“Going to school lunch is like ‘here’s a pile of fries, here’s a cookie’ and you want something more substantial,” Smithers said. “I think a lot more students would be open to meat alternatives if they were offered to them.”

I think that lunch should also have more options for more specific diets. I know I’m complaining about vegetarian options but imagine trying to be vegan on free lunch, it would be near impossible. And people will probably say “Oh you can just bring your own lunch” but sometimes people can’t afford that and rely on school lunches for their daily meals. Why should they have to compromise their morals or religious convictions if they want to eat?

I appreciate what the school is doing with free lunches and I appreciate that the majority of the food they are offering is good, but they need to have more options. I deserve a nutritious free lunch too.