OHS Cafeteria Plates and Utensils Vanish
By Zach Welch, OHS Torch Reporter
February 08, 2010
Where have all the plates gone? Recently, students have noticed that they are now using more disposable items in the cafeteria. The reason? With about 60% of students buying hot lunch, that’s about 720-750 hot lunches served a day. That’s a lot of plates and silverware that needs to be washed, but a good number of the plates and silverware never make it past the garbage cans. Over 250 plates have been thrown away since October and nearly 360 forks have been lost within 2 months, said Mrs. Idleman, Oly cafeteria manager.
This is a lot of money that students are just throwing away. “You would think that the students would be environmentally responsible,” said Mrs. Idleman. It is very hard for Mrs. Idleman to get in new plates and silverware because it takes up to 6 weeks for them to be ordered and delivered.
It has been so bad that the cafeteria had to switch to disposable silverware that break easily and they are also terrible to handle for the lunch ladies. It has gotten so bad that Mrs. Idleman had to move the garbage cans out of the middle school because of the loss.
Mr. Lootens said, “I think it’s a combination of laziness and carelessness and inconsideration.” It cost a lot of money for the school to get new plates and silverware. If students were responsible and put them where they are supposed to go, the school would spending this money on food instead of on utensils.
A related issue is the disappearance of the cafeteria’s homemade PBJ sandwiches on the lunch line. A lot of students have grown to love the PBJ’s including myself. Mrs. Idleman said that very few people bought them, less than 5 people a day. Ever since the Uncrustable peanut butter sandwiches went on sale, sales have gone up. So, will we see homemade PBJ’s in the Olympia lunch line? Probably not.
