Reasons for Lunch Complications

Articles, Community, Opinion
October 13, 2021
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By Philippa Konow

STAFF WRITER

Everyone loves lunch. You get to sit with your friends after your classes, you get to socialize with them, and this year, you also get free lunch on top of that! Unfortunately for students, an issue has been arising, especially during fourth lunch.

For the past couple weeks, some students in fourth lunch have experienced the cafeteria running out of food to serve. Students going into the lunch line have come to the front only to be told, “Sorry, we are out of lunch.” I, myself, have experienced this issue. It was on one of my days where I’m at the school until 7 p.m. due to clubs so having lunch is very important. Some lunches are even locking the kitchen doors, refusing to allow students to get food ten minutes after lunch starts in order to combat students grabbing a second lunch.

“I’m a person who eats a lot and therefore needs seconds,” said junior Abby Spewock, “I know if I go to take seconds, someone in the fourth lunch will probably not get food. No student in the public school system should feel guilty for taking more food or being hungry.” This is a point that many people in the student body share as this is a very big issue. Another key fact that seems to be overlooked is the need for larger portion sizes, especially as many students are involved in afterschool activities that require a significant amount of fuel to give them energy. One piece of pizza and a small serving of salad might be enough for one person, but might be very little energy for someone else. Having more of a variety in serving sizes would help more students in feeling fueled up after lunch.

Many of the students who need more to eat either do sports or stay after school for clubs, hours after school has ended. Now imagine if they didn’t receive lunch during the school day. They would be famished by the time they came home, especially if they didn’t have breakfast. The students then take seconds during the school to accommodate for the fact that they are still hungry after one serving, which, as Spewock mentioned, risks taking another student’s lunch away during fourth lunch.

The reason for these troubles are pretty simple: COVID-19. This has caused many problems for everyone of all ages and professions. During the beginning of the pandemic, it was difficult for many individuals to keep their jobs, with the restaurant industry suffering heavily. When Andover schools closed, many of the kitchen staff left and never returned. Since schools continued to remain fully remote for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year, the kitchen staff had to leave to seek other employment elsewhere.

STAFF PHOTO / Philippa Konow
View from the cafeteria stairs during breakfast on Tuesday October 5, 2021.

Many truck drivers working for food shipment delivery services also lost their jobs. According to Gail Koutroubas, the APS Nutrition Director, “There is a huge nationwide shortage of truck drivers. An example is, I ordered fresh produce… I ordered 25 cases of snack pack carrots. I didn’t get any of them in shipment. I ordered 25 cases of sliced apples. I didn’t get any.” This issue with the shortage of drivers is causing individuals, like Koutroubas and her kitchen staff, to struggle to find ways to make ends meet. This isn’t an issue about not ordering enough food for all the students, this is an issue with there being no one to deliver the ordered food to the schools.

For parents, graduated siblings, etc., who are looking for some work, APS schools are hiring in the kitchen. “We pay $15.97 an hour to start, and we need people even if it’s just for 4 hours,” stated Koutroubas. Just those four hours alone can help bring back the fully functioning cafeteria for the ease of the students and the staff as well!

As suggested by Koutroubas, there is a possibility for student assistants during H-block class so students can help serve food for those who missed breakfast! This will give all students the opportunity to have some breakfast in their stomach so they can get through the day. this would be able to bring together the students to achieve a common goal; avoiding hunger in the student body during the day.

There are steps being taken to help this situation get resolved. We all love lunch and miss the beloved Snack Shack, but if we all work together as a community, we will be able to get to a very much normal as close as we can. We just need some good old team work to help! If you think that one lunch won’t be enough for you, bring one from home until this is sorted out. If you see someone without food and they are hungry, if you have something that you are too full to eat, offer it to them!

If anyone is interested for a staffing position in the APS kitchens, please visit this link: https://www.aps1.net/401/Employment-Opportunities.

Information:

Pays $15.97/hr
Flexible Hours

Requirements:

Friendliness to kids of all ages
Ability to work with others
Training will be provided

Andoverview

AHS Class of 2026 Graduation: A Sentiment of Gratitude

June 11, 2026

Abby Chachus & Kendall Murphy || STAFF WRITERS

A hush falls as a sea of navy gowns, a rising tide of Andover High School graduates enters the Tsongas Center just before 5 o’clock on June 1, 2026. There is something distinct about moments like these. A goodbye that is bittersweet among both the audience and the seniors.

According to Graduation Committee member Ella Murphy, it is a goodbye to “Halloween costume competitions that never disappoint, lunches, wrap lines and vending machine trips,” seemingly inconsequential things, but the memories will stick with all of the students as they move on to their future endeavors.

The graduation speakers shared the value of these moments and their gratitude for the people that helped them along the way. As the ceremony commenced, the opening speakers Zachery Pan and Murphy welcomed everyone and encouraged them to acknowledge their shared experiences at Andover High School. “These moments, these memories, these faces. None of us got here alone.” said Pan.

Their speech gave time to deliver some truly meaningful thank you’s, “beyond the formalities” as Murphy put it, to the teachers and staff that showed up each day with “patience, support, and dedication.” Furthermore, they recognized that this gratitude is not solely meant for the significant ceremonies.

“Gratitude is kind of strange. We tend to save it for the big moments. The ceremonies, the stages, the audiences,” said Murphy.

“But let’s be honest—the people who actually changed your life probably weren’t standing on a stage when they did it,” continued Pan.

They concluded the speech with a request to the graduates to thank those who changed their lives in both the big and small moments, even if it feels unnecessary.

Before graduation, other seniors expressed similar thoughts, like reflecting on the journey that got them to where they are today.

“To all my teachers: thank you for everything. I would not be here without any single one of you.” said Christopher Reardon.

Thomas Enman advised underclassmen to “just enjoy every little minute you get at AHS.”

Vignesha Jayakumar, class essayist and valedictorian, echoed this same sentiment of appreciation, reinforcing Reardon’s message about the lasting impact of teachers and support systems. “We were galvanized from a community of supportive teachers and staff who didn’t just teach us subjects, they taught us how to think, how to question, how to care,” said Jayakumar.

He also mentioned the importance of one learning from their fellow graduates. “We learned as much from each other in the hallways and the bleachers as we did in the classroom,” he said.

After Jayakumar, Graduation Committee members Ben Pelt and Kari Belson spoke. First, Pelt announced the Class of 2026’s class gift to AHS. Next, Belson named Scott Armstrong the 2026 Distinguished Citizen (see page 4).

When Principal Jimmy D’Andrea took the stage, he, like all the other speakers, expressed the value of gratitude, a central theme that resonated throughout the ceremony. He began by thanking each group that got each member of the graduating class to where they were standing in the Tsongas Center, about to leave the comfort of being an AHS student and moving onto becoming alumni, highlighting the strong support system and sense of community that defined the graduating class’s journey.

He also encouraged each graduate to “personally reach out and thank those individuals who made a difference in [their] lives,” reinforcing the ceremony’s message of appreciation, reflection, and recognition for the people who helped shape their high school experience.

Interim Superintendent Keith Taverna encouraged graduates to continue to make the community proud with the positive impact they will bring to the world.

To conclude the ceremony, Graduation Committee members Chloe Ahn and Margaret Farabaugh brought everyone together one last time. “Tonight we stand together because of the strong and spirited community we have built,” said Ahn.

Ahn concluded, “As we become graduates of Andover High School, we step into the world with purpose, passion, and pride… Congratulations class of 2026!”

Students, Faculty Travel to Scandinavia Over Spring Break

June 11, 2026

Samin Faiz || STAFF WRITER

Forty-two Andover High School students and seven chaperones visited Scandinavia this April.

After a six-hour flight from Boston to Reykjavík, Iceland, followed by a two-hour flight to Oslo, Norway, the group began their ten-day-long tour the Thursday before spring break. Through a combination of bus rides, overnight ferries, and countless miles on foot, the group made their way through five Northern European countries: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia.

“I’ve been traveling with students since 2005, so this might be my 17th tour,” said Brian Shea, English teacher, organizer, and chaperone of the trip. “We’ve now done all of Europe, so Northern Europe was sort of our last frontier.”

Apart from the chaperones, the group was accompanied by a tour director named Yulia, whom Shea worked closely with to structure the daily itinerary and ensure a smooth trip.

In Scandinavia, English is widely spoken, so the language barrier was never a problem for the group. Sometimes, however, the students made connections in ways that transcend the spoken word.

“I played soccer with a bunch of people in Sweden,” recalled Hannah Arnold, a junior who participated in the trip. “That was probably the highlight of the trip for me.”

Arnold is no stranger to international travel. Just two months earlier, in fact, she joined her classmates on another school trip to Peru over winter break. However, for her twin sister, Grace Arnold, this was a brand-new experience.

“I met a lot of new people that I’ve never met before, especially people not in my grade,” Grace said. “It was really nice because I met a lot of great people through that and got to spend time with people I wouldn’t usually get to spend time with.”

The trip offered a flexible balance of group tours and independent exploration. “We had a lot of free time,” Grace noted. “We got to explore cities on our own and shop where we wanted. As long as you stayed in groups of three or more, you were free to roam the city.”

Students observed the region’s distinct economic models. Through agreements within the European Union and the Nordic Council, higher education is heavily subsidized or entirely free for regional citizens.

“It’s really interesting. They tax wealthier people a lot more and their overall tax rates are a lot higher,” one student observed. “The way they reinvest money back into infrastructure contributes to stronger public infrastructure. Education and health care are free, and they even offer stipends to cover the cost of living. Essentially, you pay a lot of taxes, but you get a lot in return.”

Students also noticed the societal impact of these safety nets. “Their unhoused population is significantly lower. If you want help, those systems are available to support you.”

The travelers’ curiosity and maturity left a strong impression on the faculty.

“These kids were wonderful,” said Shea. “All of the students were engaged. They were paying attention. They were enjoying it. They were wonderful travelers. To me, that was the biggest thrill.”

With the preparations for next year’s destinations already underway, the future of travel programs at AHS seems to be brimming with opportunities.

“Next year, we have two tours,” said Shea. “We’re running one tour to Barcelona and Madrid in February, and then we’re running another tour to Greece in April.”

Such opportunities are often highly selective at other schools, but luckily, these trips remain open to the entire student body at AHS.

“There’s no application process,” Shea emphasized. “We’re not looking at grades. We’re not looking at behavioral records. Anybody can sign up when we offer these tours. I put them out there, and I’m like, ‘If you want to go, come.’”

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Reasons for Lunch Complications

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