The afternoon bells ring as you and your classmates flock to the halls, heading toward one specific room. There are the sounds of loud chatter, people are laughing and stuffing their faces with food, and large windows allow the outside to be seen.

Almost everyone has eaten school lunch before. Some may remember it differently than others. Many people have generously given their opinions on the status of school lunches. From instructors to students and Freshmen to Seniors, voices will be heard.

Some people enjoy the school lunches, free or not. The food to them just tastes good in general. This is the case with Evy Deaton and Alice Lizondo, seniors, who say that the food is actually pretty good and have spoken highly of the french toast.

“It always makes me happy because it is usually on late starts so it is a great addition to the day.” Evy Deaton explains.

Another student who feels the same way, Ryan Spencer, a Junior, says he also likes the food the school provides most of the time

“I like that it’s free.” Says Spencer.

As students know, the school lunches were not always free and had to be paid for an average cost of $3.25. Thankfully, now food comes free as of this year, via a vote casted by the state of Colorado for Proposition FF.

Counselor Barbara Norrbom’s opinion is similar to many others:

“I think it’s a wonderful thing that all kids have access to free lunch.” Norrbom stated.

However, similar to two sides of a coin, some people say school lunches are not ideal. For example, Anna Goodbee and Avery Adair, Juniors, both do not like the school lunches.

“There [are no] gluten-free options in a timely manner.” Says Adair and Goodbee

Similarly, Megan Bader, Freshmen, also expresses her concern about the nutrition of the food.

“I’m glad it’s free now, but it needs to be more nutritious.” Bader said.

The food, however, has an acceptable amount of nutrition, they may just not be that filling or have the amount of nutrition that Bader is talking about.

Similar to the public school lunch menu, The Innovation Center also provides free lunch. This is a wonderful thing because it allows students to eat lunch even though they are away from school. However, the meal choice varies, from small differences like pizza or pizza crunches, to wildly different like chicken sandwiches to burritos proven by an interview from Bevery Blackeyes, an Innovation Center student,

“Sometimes they are pretty good, sometimes they’re not.” Blackeyes said.

After attaining their food, some students sit and eat, while others chat with fellow classmates. The food is typically enjoyed outside the Innovation Center building since there is no official lunchroom to sit in.

It seems as though the argument for the school lunch on nutrition or necessity may vary. Some students are content with the lunch the school provides and others are not. However, there is one common opinion that all students share, everyone seems to appreciate that the lunches are free.