Since Sept. 2009, Archer has been turning towards the company Fresh Lunches to provide daily meal options. What is it about Fresh Lunches that has caused Archer to stick with them for so long?

According to Archer’s Assistant Director of Operations Janet Lyon, the coordinator and liaison between Archer and Fresh Lunches, one of the main reasons Archer chose to go with Fresh Lunches instead of other comparable hot lunch programs is because they felt that they “were a good match with Archer…. a young growing company at that time.” Archer chose Fresh Lunches through a faculty and student committee that explored different options through taste testing.

Archer and Fresh Lunches have since formed a sort of bond. Lyon says that “it was important to us that it was a partnership, that they would work with us and us with them…They were very open to suggestions and still are.” This notion aligns with one of Fresh Lunches’ four core values: partnership. The other three values are quality, responsibility, and integrity.

Archer students have very mixed opinions when it comes to Fresh Lunches. In a recent survey of 100 students, the average rating for Fresh Lunches was 3.04/5. There were many strong opinions in both directions. One thing many Archer girls dislike about fresh lunches is more about getting the food than the food itself.

One girl says, “The food is great but the line is too long. I believe that they could make a better system so that kids get fresh lunches faster, because we spend half of lunch waiting in line for our food. But in general I love Fresh Lunches!”

When asked which Fresh Lunches item was their favorite and which was their least favorite, results were far from united. Foods that some listed as their favorites, others listed as least favorites, and vice versa.

This demonstrates how hard it is for one lunch program to satisfy the needs of an entire student population. Lyon expressed this, saying that “it’s always a challenge to meet everyone’s needs from sixth graders through seniors. I think that’s always a challenge and always will be, and that’s okay, it should be. But that’s why it’s important to have a company that’s willing to work with us.”

The goal is to make as many people happy as possible—which is really all the students want.