Lunch at these massive high schools

[Anonymous]

My DD is moving from a private school to Blair and just wondering how 3000 kids eat lunch in the same general time period. Should I send her with lunch from home or do they really manage to serve this many kids lunch?

[Anonymous]

My third Blair student starts this fall. None of them ever bought lunch. I’d plan to have her bring from home at least for the first few weeks.

[Anonymous]

Yikes 3000 students.

[Anonymous]

Most bring lunch. Cafeteria holds maybe 300? The only ones buying are the FARMs kids

[Anonymous]

My kids go to RM.They have “open lunch” which means they can literally eat anywhere they want, whether it’s on or off campus. We’ve been told it’s because there’s no way they could all fit in the cafeteria at the same time. Maybe that’s how Blair is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids go to RM.They have “open lunch” which means they can literally eat anywhere they want, whether it’s on or off campus. We’ve been told it’s because there’s no way they could all fit in the cafeteria at the same time. Maybe that’s how Blair is?

Forgot to add, they never buy school lunch and always bring it from home.

[Anonymous]

My kid went to overcrowded 3000 student Walter Johnson, at a time when there was open lunch for all grades. This year they've curtailed it due to post-pandemic behavior at the nearby Wildwood center (kids throwing chairs and having knife fights right where people eat). I think only the upper grades are allowed to roam freely at the eateries, but I'm not sure how they'll enforce that.

So check your school's policy, and for the first few weeks, send a lunch. Your kid will get the lay of the land and figure out what they want. I agree that the cafeteria seems like a lost cause with that many kids.

[Anonymous]

Have her bring her lunch. The line for the cafeteria is long. I have one kid who likes the crappy food and on odd days last year his classroom was close enough to the cafeteria so he could run and get in line. The other days it wasn’t worth it. Or he’d wait to the very end of lunch and then snag something to eat in the next class period.

And to the PP who used the phrase “FARMS kids” - plz don’t refer to human beings that way.

[Anonymous]

I had the same dilemma when I attended B-CC -- open lunch policy because the school had over 2200+ ppl at the time, and the cafeteria could only hold 10% of the population at a time. Every grade had open lunch, but it obviously adds up if you buy every day.

Blair is fortunate to have a McDonald's right there on the other side of University Blvd, and other restaurants in the Woodmore shopping center (Subway, Chipotle), so that helps things. What I personally did was a 2-2-1 system: it's not easy to get help from teachers during lunch because of the short time frame and the fact that you won't be the only person seeing them, so I set aside 2 days where I had a big breakfast, worked with teachers, and snuck in a snack later. Then, I had 2 days where I brought my lunch and ate with friends. Friday would be my splurge day to go out into the community and grab lunch. Saves money, lets everything get done, preps for college. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had the same dilemma when I attended B-CC -- open lunch policy because the school had over 2200+ ppl at the time, and the cafeteria could only hold 10% of the population at a time. Every grade had open lunch, but it obviously adds up if you buy every day.

Blair is fortunate to have a McDonald's right there on the other side of University Blvd, and other restaurants in the Woodmore shopping center (Subway, Chipotle), so that helps things. What I personally did was a 2-2-1 system: it's not easy to get help from teachers during lunch because of the short time frame and the fact that you won't be the only person seeing them, so I set aside 2 days where I had a big breakfast, worked with teachers, and snuck in a snack later. Then, I had 2 days where I brought my lunch and ate with friends. Friday would be my splurge day to go out into the community and grab lunch. Saves money, lets everything get done, preps for college. Problem solved.

Blair technically has a closed lunch these days. You’d never know it by the lines at Subway and Chipotle, so I’m not sure how strictly it’s enforced.
But kids are allowed to sit in the hallways or on the grounds, so they’re not all trying to cram into the cafeteria.

Blair also has a really robust schedule of clubs, activities, and opportunities for academic help or study during lunch. So if a kid hasn’t yet found their group, they don’t need to feel awkward or lost. There’s always somewhere to go.

[Anonymous]

RM has a single hour long period for lunch where students can, as stated above, eat lunch anywhere. Many clubs meet at lunchtime so kids use that hour to have their meeting and eat. It makes the school day longer than I’d like but it seems to work for the school.

[Anonymous]

Blair's lunch is closed - they are not allowed off school grounds. Lots eat in classrooms etc.... Them have really nice outdoor furniture, they do movies in the auditorium, sports the gym, tons of club meet..... I've had 3 at Blair- they always brought lunch from home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid went to overcrowded 3000 student Walter Johnson, at a time when there was open lunch for all grades. This year they've curtailed it due to post-pandemic behavior at the nearby Wildwood center (kids throwing chairs and having knife fights right where people eat). I think only the upper grades are allowed to roam freely at the eateries, but I'm not sure how they'll enforce that.

So check your school's policy, and for the first few weeks, send a lunch. Your kid will get the lay of the land and figure out what they want. I agree that the cafeteria seems like a lost cause with that many kids.

I heard kids can still go out and pick up lunch but can’t stay there to eat it — need to bring it back to campus to eat.

[Anonymous]

Uber Eats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had the same dilemma when I attended B-CC -- open lunch policy because the school had over 2200+ ppl at the time, and the cafeteria could only hold 10% of the population at a time. Every grade had open lunch, but it obviously adds up if you buy every day.

Blair is fortunate to have a McDonald's right there on the other side of University Blvd, and other restaurants in the Woodmore shopping center (Subway, Chipotle), so that helps things. What I personally did was a 2-2-1 system: it's not easy to get help from teachers during lunch because of the short time frame and the fact that you won't be the only person seeing them, so I set aside 2 days where I had a big breakfast, worked with teachers, and snuck in a snack later. Then, I had 2 days where I brought my lunch and ate with friends. Friday would be my splurge day to go out into the community and grab lunch. Saves money, lets everything get done, preps for college. Problem solved.

Blair does not have open lunch.