CBC MARKETPLACE: YOUR HEALTH » CAFETERIA FOOD
Putting cafeteria food to the test
Broadcast: January 2, 2005

Grade 11 student Allison Elwell and her posse of like-minded food advocates hatched a plan to gather the evidence: high school cafeteria food.

MORE: FoodShare, the group that brought Allison and the other students together for the project, put together this instructions list [PDF] for the cafeteria test.

Allison and a group of like-minded students hatched a plan to collect samples from cafeterias.

Each of the students off to a specified school to sample the fare available at the school cafeteria. They pretend they are ordinary students on an ordinary day.

“For one week we tasted and we tested, and when no one was looking, we made notes,” explains Allison.

The group paid attention to how the food smelled, how it tasted, what other students thought about the choices available. They also took pictures.

“We collected the evidence,” says Allison, “and finally, five days later, we had our final rendezvous.”

The group was impressed that the crust on the pizza from Stephanie's school was homemade.

The group meets again at their secret basement den. This time they are joined by special agents: nutritionist Julie Daniluk and food critic Marion Kane.

They pick apart each lunch (which had been collected earlier that day). Their goal: to grade the best –and the worst–lunch of the lot.

School #1: Pizza and salad

“I have here some vegetarian pizza,” says Stephanie, a grade nine student at Etobicoke School of the Arts. “It was the ‘healthy special’ … In my cafeteria, there is a lot of variety. They had a salad with every healthy meal.”

MORE: Stephanie's food test diary [PDF] »

Daniluk and Kane marvel at the pizza’s hand-made crust – and the fact that the meal came with a fresh salad. “This looks to be real vegetables,” says Kane. “They do,” agrees Daniluk. “They have red pepper on there.”

In the end, Allison decides Stephanie’s school deserves an A.

Rowan's salad was topped with a piece of less-than-crisp lettuce.

School #2: Lasagna and salad

Another grade nine student, Rowan, sampled the food at Ursula Franklin Academy’s cafeteria.

MORE: Rowan's
food test diary [PDF] »

“What’s usually on the menu is stuff like beef patties, chicken burgers, spicy and regular fries." On the group's final testing day, Rowan collected a sample of the cafeteria's lasagna.

Rowan’s meal also came with a salad, unfortunately topped with a piece of less-than-crisp lettuce. In the end, Allison decides that Rowan’s school gets a B.

School #3: Muffin, chicken wrap and broccoli soup

Marina, who hails from Newtonbrook Secondary School, brought along brought along a muffin and a chicken wrap – and a greasy bowl of cream of broccoli soup.

"It looks like prison food," says Marion Kane. "You couldn't pay me to eat that."

“You can see the oil,” says Marina. “It’s on the healthy special.”

MORE: Marina's
food test diary [PDF] »

“Look at it, it’s all watery,” says Kane. “It looks like prison food. You couldn’t pay me to eat that.

“When you eat, it should be a pleasurable experience, it should be a shared experience. It should be a comfortable experience.”

Marina says it’s options like greasy soup that have a lot of her fellow students heading to the mall food court instead of the cafeteria. “There’s a restaurant there and a lot more choices – healthier choices.”

Allison gives Marina’s school cafeteria a C-.

School #4: Noodles

“Carbs, carbs, carbs,” remarks nutritionist Julie Daniluk.

Shirley’s school is in Scarborough. She says the cafeteria has a daily special that costs $3.99. “We have noodles, pasta and subs. We have Asian food and somosas.”

MORE: Shirley's
food test diary [PDF] »

“Carbs, carbs, carbs,” remarks nutritionist Julie Daniluk. “Without protein we can’t build lean muscle and we can’t function in the world.

“Where is the classic five servings of veggies and three servings of fruit that we all need to eat to stay healthy? It’s just non-existent. A few pieces of lettuce don’t constitute your veggie portion, unfortunately.”

When it comes to the meal offered at Shirley’s school, Daniluk adds: “you’ve spent a small fortune and ended up with very little for your dollar. If you spent the same money on food, and making it yourself, you’d be eating like a king.”

The group concurs that Shirley’s school is definitely not the king. Allison hands out a D.

“I’m concerned about the amount of fried foods,” observes Daniluk. “Trans-fats are not good.”

School #5: Fish and chips and coleslaw

Lauren steps up with the offerings from her school, Northern Secondary.

“I decided to get the special,” says Lauren, presenting the group with a plate fish and chips and died coleslaw.

“I’m concerned about the amount of fried foods,” observes Daniluk. “Trans-fats are not good.”

Lauren’s school comes out with a D-.

School #6: Chicken burger and onion rings

This chicken burger and onion rings meal earned Ryan's school an "F".

Finally, the group turns to the worst lunch – which had little competition to become the most questionable culinary centrepiece:

Ryan presents the group with onion rings and a chicken burger, which he’d picked up earlier that day from Leaside Collegiate.

“I’d like to know what you guys think,” says Ryan. “In my opinion, none of them taste particularly good.

“This is representative of what the caf offers at my school. It’s your typical fast food.”

MORE: Ryan's food test diary [PDF] »

The group dissects the meal, with some displeasure. “I think this is a frozen patty,” says food critic Marion Kane. “It’s been deep fried. The bun tastes like a pillow. I’m now really worried. This is really bad food.”

In the end, Allison decides to give Ryan’s cafeteria an F.

All told, the group hands out one “A”, one “B”, and the rest of the schools measure up much worse.

Allison and her friends dish out healthy lunches to other students.

Dishing out solutions

What can students do about the bad food in their cafeteria? At Allison Elwell’s school, she and a group of friends gave up on the cafeteria altogether. Now they make healthy lunches, like chilli and salad, for other students.

“Our Home Economics classroom doubles as our kitchen and dining room,” says Allison. “The food’s cheap, it tastes good … and we guarantee satisfaction.

“If we can decide to serve only healthy food that tastes delicious, why can’t the school board? That’s a question I still don’t understand,” Allison adds. “If someone – anyone – can explain that to me, well, I’ll give them a free lunch – and a very nutritious one too!”