One of the biggest changes from last year’s lunch experience is the change of the to-go container. As a lunchroom regular, I observe the typical phrase of “Can I get that to go?” being said several times. With Winchester Thurston’s policy of eating wherever you want on campus, it is understandable that a large amount of the student population leaves the cafeteria.  Last year, the containers were the lidded boxes which we all adore. They could house an entire entree and two sides and could be taken anywhere in the school to eat.

This year, however, things are different. Getting something to-go means that you have to eat your food on the new disposable plates.

The plates are less than optimal when it comes to the aspect of mobility. You cannot fit very much food on the plate, food spills off of them, and they cannot be held with one hand easily. These reasons make it a challenge to go away from the cafeteria. 

I am not the only one who has struggled with these plates. One Friday, sophomore Marcus Ost was walking from the pizza counter to the checkout station when he held his plate at too steep of an angle making his pizza fall onto the floor. Distraught, he walked back into the lunch line and had to wait for another slice. “This could have all been prevented if we had last yk in ear’s containers” Ost said as he was recounting the story.

Another struggle is that the current plates lack the depth to carry complex foods. Junior Vincent Loh says “One time someone spilled pasta sauce near my computer, and it almost got on my computer.” With the old containers, spills would be dramatically reduced, and would give people more piece of mind when working while eating.

Finally, sometimes people take the leftover food they have from lunch and eat it at a later time. With many people getting home late after school due to extra curricular activities, a leftover sunbutter and jelly or perhaps a cookie are common leftover snacks that can be eaten quickly during a turnaround time. With the plates, you cannot just put it into your backpack and take it out whenever, but you have to carry it around making it a big hassle.

Yalkin Kaynar, an avid after school rower, takes a sandwich to go and eats it before practice. “I get an extra kick of energy by slamming down a turkey sandwich before practice,” Kaynar says. As a two-time USRowing national championship finalist, he uses the food in the cafeteria to perform his best and with the new plates, he lacks that “kick of energy” that he relies on.

All of these reasons and more give an ample amount of evidence as to why we should ditch the new and go back to the old. Going to-go is harder now than ever but with enough patience, perseverance, and peaceful protest, we might be able to return to the older, simpler way of eating.