Fear and panic have swept over SHS, according to students in third lunch. On Oct. 26, C lunch ran out of smiley fries in the Signature Selections line, and students like junior Jaylon Lovell were concerned for his and his peers’ well being.
“It was so scary,” Lovell said. “One moment the smiles were there, and the next moment they were gone.”
After several reports of food shortages in the last lunch during this school year, widespread panic has set in as rumors of a potential famine spark up around the school, according to students. SHS staff has neither confirmed nor denied these rumors.
Students, especially those in third lunch, are outraged with the situation. Along with smiley fries, other food shortages are Smart Mouth Pizza, cookies and butter, which has continuously been worrying students.
Freshman Gabby Brigham says she’s never experienced anything like this. At the middle school, she always had first lunch. Never did she imagine that third lunch would be like this.
“We wait all day for lunch,” Brigham said. “Standing in line is horrible enough, but when you get to the front and there’s no more pizza, it’s like the light inside my heart turns off.”
Lunch lady Janae Smith is concerned for the students. Never in her 11 years of working at SHS has she seen this type of food shortage. She says that the rest of the lunch staff is just as confused as the students by the situation. She claims that she has encountered many weird occurrences in the lunchroom like the ice cream machine breaking down and the pizza disappearing.
“We have over 2,000 students to feed and they are all I care about,” Smith said. “It’s a problem that needs solving.”
Teachers are noticing problems in their classrooms as well. Some staff have reported students growling and banging their heads on the wall, among other unnecessary classroom distractions. According to office worker Alexander Roberts, the number of students sent to the main office and student services has grown an increasingly large amount since the food shortages, especially after fourth period.
The most serious case involved a sophomore boy (whose name is yet to be released) laying in the middle of the classroom whispering something about smiley fries and the lack of butter. Students in his class described the episode as “something out of a movie” and “delusional.”
Some teachers have even gone as far as emailing administration in hopes for answers. They fear that if such distractions continue, students will start to have lower grades. Administration has decided to not yet respond.
Parents have started to join in with the questions that students and teachers are asking. They are continuously expressing their anger as their children are coming home hungry. A group of 20 parents were seen protesting with signs in front of SHS last Tuesday in order to demand answers. SHS sophomore Carmen Ross’s mom, Mahra Ross, is just one of many.
“If my smart-mouthed kid can’t get the Smart Mouth Pizza he so knowingly deserves, then that’s where I have to step in to demand answers,” Ross said.
Solutions to how these shortages will be fixed are yet to be announced. However, students, parents and teachers all have an opinion on what should be done.
Administration recently started unannounced experiments in order to control food supply. Food packages were found in empty drawers in the science department in order to store an extra supply of food.
Students in dual-credit chemistry reported that during a lab, they mixed up butter with a vital ingredient for the experiment last Tuesday. This confusion caused a chemical reaction in which students and staff in the lab had to be evacuated. Sophomore Julian Brewer had to be quarantined for 12 hours after the accident.
“We didn’t really think, to be honest,” Brewer said. “We should’ve noticed it was butter before we added it to the experiment.”
Some students believe an extra supply of food should be stored in their lockers. Senior Zackery Aaron has promised with all of his soul to store and protect an extra supply of Smucker’s Uncrustable peanut butter and jellys in his locker. He believes that if they use student’s lockers to store food, food shortages will be less likely to happen.
“I totally wouldn’t eat them,” Aaron said. “They would be perfectly protected. I would never let something happen to my favorite food.”
Administration called Aaron’s suggestion “probable for complications,” and they aren’t sure how many students they can trust.
Students are threatening to stay home from school to show their anger arising in the unsolved issue. They feel as if this is a problem that shouldn’t be happening, and a solution needs to made on how to fix it.
“We are trying to stay strong, but this is one problem that is too big,” Lovell said. “Until we find a solution, students everywhere will struggle to get through their fifth period classes.”

Continuously expressing their anger as their children are coming home hungry. A group of 20 parents were seen protesting with signs in front of SHS last Tuesday in order to demand answers. SHS sophomore Carmen Ross’s mom is just one of many.

“If my smart-mouthed kid can’t get the Smart Mouth Pizza he so knowingly deserves, then that’s where I have to step in to demand answers,” Mahra Ross said.

Solutions to how these shortages will be fixed are yet to be announced. However, students, parents and teachers all have an opinion on what should be done.

Administration recently started unannounced experiments in order to control food supply. Food packages were found in empty drawers in the science department in order to store an extra supply of food.

Students in dual-credit chemistry reported that during a lab, they mixed up butter with a vital ingredient for the experiment last Tuesday. This confusion caused a chemical reaction in which students and staff in the lab had to be evacuated. Sophomore Julian Brewer had to be quarantined for 12 hours after the accident.

“We didn’t really think to be honest,” Brewer said. “We should’ve noticed it was butter before we added it to the experiment.”

Some students believe an extra supply of food should be stored in their lockers. Senior Zackery Aaron has promised with all of his soul to store and protect an extra supply of Smucker’s Uncrustable Peanut Butter and Jelly in his locker. He believes that if they use student’s lockers to store food, food shortages will be less likely to happen.

“I totally wouldn’t eat them,” Aaron said. “They would be perfectly protected. I would never let something happen to my favorite food.”

Administration called Aaron’s suggestion “probable for complications,” but they aren’t sure how many students they can trust.

Students are threatening to stay home from school to show their anger arising in the unsolved issue. They feel as if this is a problem that shouldn’t be happening, and a solution needs to made on how to fix it.

“We are trying to stay strong, but this is one problem that is too big,” Lovell said. “Until we find a solution, students everywhere will struggle to get through their fifth period classes.”