Hot fluffy waffles, tangy butter chicken, and fresh vegetables; this is the future that FISD envisions for its school cafeteria menus. 

On Sept. 26, 2022, FISD hosted an open house at the Frisco ISD Service Center, featuring new additions to the high school lunch menu, and open discussions about the issues with buying food. 

Particularly, students raised concerns about whether or not the meals given to students were healthy. 

“I think the nutrition of the school lunches is slightly lacking, as most of the main courses do not provide enough energy for high schoolers throughout the day, and oftentimes healthier options are less appealing,” said Nidhi Kayshap, junior. 

Students also sparked conversations about the amount of time they were getting to eat their lunches.

“During lunch, we only get around 30 minutes to eat,” said Kayshap. “Half of that time is taken by standing in line. Not to mention the kitchen doors close halfway through lunch, so we can’t go back to get food.”

Along with extending lunch, students also wanted more options for meals. 

“I would like there to be more vegetarian options other than salads or cheese pizza. I also think it would be interesting to add vegan options that resembled meat,” said Abijith Vijayan, junior. 

Finally, students wanted the lunch options to be of a higher standard.

“I think the amount of food we are given is adequate for the amount we pay, but I would like some better quality, fresher, more appetizing food,” said Vijayan. 

To address these concerns, FISD sampled eight new menu options. These options included: Sabra red pepper hummus with flatbread, Belgian breakfast waffles in the flavors “Choc O’ Crisp” and “Fun N Fruitti”, butter masala chicken, a spicy black bean burger, a soy-based griller prime burger, vegan chicken nuggets, and Jack Link’s barbecue (BBQ) chicken jerky. 

With these additions, FISD hopes to increase nutrition and inclusivity among students. 

Most high school students found that the waffles had room to improve.

“I feel like the waffles needed some work because the textures were unappealing and too chewy. The dish itself was kind of soggy,” said Siddhartha Yerra, junior. 

For the non-vegetarian options, students preferred the butter masala chicken. 

“It had diverse flavors that made me feel at home and [it provided] cultural representation that [is] usually missing from school lunches,” said Yerra. 

To make school lunches more accessible to students the food-tasting event presented vegan alternatives to food.

“Out of all the options, I liked the soy burger and the vegan nuggets,” said Vijayan. “Although these were vegetarian, they resembled the desired taste relatively well and [were] pretty good,” 

To collect data on the opinions on the revised food options, FISD created two surveys that evaluate how people felt about the improved menu. 

Gallery • 5 Photos

Abijith Vijayan, junior, fills out survey on Sept. 26, 2022, in the Service Center.

The first survey included each dish given and a range of emojis a person had to select to express how they felt about the food. It also included a section on improvements that they could make.

The second survey provided a person the opportunity to write about a specific food of their choice and give more in-depth feedback about it. 

“I think the surveys are a good way for FISD to see what is wrong, and hopefully take into account the criticism of the taste, texture, and nutrition,” said Kayshap. 

Despite the criticisms of the open house, students believe it is a necessary action. 

“Overall, I am glad that FISD is deciding to put more work into changing our school lunches,” said Kayshap. “I think this is a good first step to improving the school’s meals as a whole.”