COSTA MESA : Cafeterias Tastefully Revamped

For generations, school cafeteria food has been the butt of campus jokes. Tuna Surprise may be nutritious, but it doesn’t sell well.

But lunches in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District these days are a little different. In an effort to compete for the lunch money of students accustomed to eating at fast-food restaurants, the district has opened “food pavilions” in its high school cafeterias. Now a student can buy pizza, salad or a stuffed potato without having to leave campus.

“We’re trying to meet the needs and wants of the students,” said Jackie Kravitz, assistant food services director for the district. “The menu reflects food in the ‘90s.”

The cafeterias resemble the food courts found in malls, with individual stations for each type of food.

And the students seem to agree with the changes. The lunch lines at Estancia High School last week were packed.

“I used to go off campus last year, but not any more,” said 18-year-old R.C. Arce, adding that the pizza and Mexican food were his favorites. “This is what you’d choose to eat, if you could.”

“There’s a variety of foods to choose from now, not just one food,” said 15-year-old Naazma Malik. “Last year a lot of people just brought their lunch ‘cause they didn’t like the sight of the food.”

The district also plans to introduce pushcarts with hot dogs and Chinese food and an outdoor grill for hamburgers, Estancia supervisor Jean Mechem said.

Now, Kravitz said, “if they don’t want peas, they don’t have to have peas. But this is food they’ll eat. Why make a nice nutritious trash can?”

The goal of the new program is to increase revenues. The food services department, with an annual budget of about $3 million, cost the district about $250,00 last year, according to Assistant Supt. Thomas Godley. With an increase in prices of about 15% and the increased participation of students, the district hopes that it can make up that loss.

But seniors at one table said the new fare would not be enough to keep them at school during the lunch hour.

“Well, the decorations are really funky,” said Shannon Curren, 17, “but we prefer to eat out. Let’s just put it that way.”

“It’s more fun to go out, and to get a break from school,” Kristen Hall, 17, added.