A mobile food cart was proposed to CRLS as an outdoor lunch option that could bring hot pizza, hamburgers, and more to students during this school year, but due to multiple obstacles, as you might have noticed, it is nowhere to be found.
Elijah Bartholomew ‘26 said that members of the student government were informed by former principal Damon Smith that this cart would be an option this year. Aside from a new lunch option, another goal was to limit the number of students leaving campus. Students are split on whether or not this food cart is necessary, with Bartholomew saying it is “definitely not a priority,” while others are excited by the possibility.
The more important matter, however, is whether it’s possible. Ian Lavalle, the CRLS kitchen manager, says he wants to make it happen, but two main obstacles stand in the way: a lack of guidance and an already short-staffed kitchen.
Lavalle says that there needs to be a “100% foolproof plan” for the cart to happen. Lavalle and the kitchen staff have not been given enough guidance by CPSD’s Main Food and Nutrition Services office. He has been left with questions such as: how the food will be kept warm, how students will be accounted for, and where the cart would go if it rains or snows. Lavalle says that in theory, it is a good idea, but a lot more work is needed to bring a desirable alternative to students.
Focusing on creating a food cart to provide students with a lunch option they truly want, Lavalle knows a cold bar serving grab-and-go sandwiches—which is what is possible at the moment—would not exactly be the most popular. Daniel Bronstein ‘25 says, “Grab-and- go sandwiches are always a nice and quick option, but they are not many of our first picks.” Lavalle has found success with innovation in the Ramen bar, bringing students running to the Media Cafe. Alas, it was a two-year project, Lavalle says, and the food cart’s timeline would look similar, but underscores how a better staffing structure is needed before starting to work on it.
The short-staffed kitchen has made the Media Cafeteria unavailable multiple times this year and has become an important issue for both kitchen staff and students. Lunch lines in all three lunches increase drastically when the Media Cafe is closed, and students certainly notice its effects.
Lavalle offers a more tangible and quicker alternative: to open the bistro. This empty area to the right of the pasta station in the main cafeteria could offer the pizza, chicken, veggie burgers, sandwiches, and more that was promised. The bistro was open before the pandemic but hasn’t been open since. Nevertheless, students can keep an eye out this year, as the food cart is not out of the picture. Lavalle told the Register Forum, “Maybe this winter we can get together a plan and hopefully soft roll it out this spring.”
This article also appears in our October 2024 print edition.
