Students Savor Food Court : Despite Complaints, Pilot Project at High School Is Passing Test

Five months after their school opened with much fanfare the nation’s first high school fast food court, students at Capistrano Valley High School still complain a lot about lunch.

The Taco Bell tacos need more sour cream. The pizza from Pizza Hut is much too greasy. And the chicken nuggets from Kentucky Fried Chicken just aren’t all that appealing.

But the number of students buying such items tends to belie those claims.

Since the food court’s opening in September, said William Caldwell, food services director for the Capistrano Unified School District, daily fast-food customers have increased nearly 40%--from 555 to about 730. That means that roughly half of the students who buy their lunches at school have forsaken standard cafeteria fare for the new fast food.

Why? Simply because, Caldwell said, “this is the kind of food they like. They call this ‘real food.’ ”

Indeed, many of the students--when pressed--admit to an almost irresistible fondness for the fast-food fare, despite its imperfections. Having the food on campus, said Casey MacGregor, 14, is “awesome. It’s so much better than cafeteria food. You know what you’re gonna eat, ‘cause you also eat it at regular (off-campus) places.”

Danielle Rubio, also 14, expressed similar views. The fast food court, she said, is “so cool. It’s better for them to bring it to us than to have so many students going out.”

The idea grew out of concerns among district officials that too many students were skipping lunch rather than eating traditional cafeteria fare. The new food court was made possible by a one-year pilot agreement between the district and the Pepsico restaurant group, which paid about $20,000 to construct the fast-food facility on campus.

In return, school officials said they pay Pepsico 10% on the sales of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken products prepared by district employees specially trained by those companies. Although similar arrangements exist on college campuses, the officials said, this is the first at a high school.

“I think it’s working out really well,” said Principal Jessica Leadley, adding that she has been contacted by educators and reporters from as far away as New Jersey, Arizona and Japan expressing interest in the concept. “It’s added a lot of energy and spirit to the student body.”

Those who buy the fast food, meanwhile, show definite preferences. About 65% of them consistently eat Taco Bell products, which at Capistrano Valley High include bean burritos, regular or soft tacos, chilitos, nachos and combo burritos. An additional 30%, Caldwell says, buy Pizza Hut pizzas. And a distant third is Kentucky Fried Chicken, preferred by a slim 5%.

Such distinctions tend to blur, however, during the school’s single daily lunch period at which its 2,700 students have about half an hour in which to frantically obtain and eat their lunches. One result is long lines at the food court and lots of complaints that have nothing to do with the quality of the food.

“I’d rather be off campus for lunch,” said John Synnott, 16, munching on a chilito, a flour tortilla filled with meat, seasonings and melted cheese. “It wouldn’t be so crowded, you could mess around a bit and go to some other places.”

Said Jimmy Brock, 15, between bites on a chicken sandwich: “Standing in line takes forever, and by the time you get up there a lot of the stuff is gone.”

As often happens, however, the discussion soon turned back to the food.

“The only thing I like is the bean burritos,” declared Cari Wilson, 16. “Everything else is gross.”

Observed Tony Larios, also 16: “The pizza’s too greasy. The fries are the best.”

Seventeen-year-old Clint Grucky, meanwhile, seemed to have found a way out of such decisions. Instead of buying lunch at the fast food court, he had brought it from home.

GROCERY GAMBLE

Taco Bell and Frito-Lay will test market a line of Mexican food in grocery stores. D5

Ringing the Bell

Eighty percent of students who buy lunch on campus at Capistrano Valley High School choose the fast-food court. Among the food outlets, the overwhelming favorite is Taco Bell.

Taco Bell: 65%

Pizza Hut: 30%

Kentucky Fried Chicken: 5%

Source: William Caldwell, food services director, Capistrano Unified School District.