St. Louis High School students use open-campus lunch to their advantage, spending large amounts of money solely on fast food every week.
With open-campus lunch available for SLHS students to capitalize on, students tend to overspend on lunch. Nearby restaurants that students can go to on their lunchtime include Subway, McDonald’s, Biggby, The Blue Shamrock, River Rock and 7/11. As somebody who frequently goes out for lunch, sophomore Jackson Shattuck said, “I go out for lunch about three times a week. I usually go to Mconald’s or 7/11.”
Jackson’s long-time best friend, sophomore Joel Childs, also had some things to say about going out for lunch. In fact, Childs said, “I don’t go out for lunch as often as I used to, I only go when the school food is not desirable. I spend about $20 a week.”
Payton Metzger, another sophomore, also tends to spend her money elsewhere at lunchtime. In fact, Metzger said, “This year, I go off campus twice a week for lunch. Last year I spent probably $400 on lunch because I was going every day. I regret spending that much last year because I could have just packed my lunch and it takes a lot of time to go every day.”
On the other hand, some students, such as senior Charlie Lyon, don’t regret spending their money on food every week. In fact, Lyon said, “I go out to eat three times a week, and spend about $25 per week. I usually go wherever is the cheapest. I don’t regret spending my money on food.” Unlike most students, Lyon has earned his own money by working at Pizza One.
The average amount of money spent by students per week is about $20. With there being 37 weeks in the average school year, this means a student who spends $20 a week every week spends a grand total of $740 per school year. That’s a lot of money! In fact, Shattuck said, “I do regret spending that much money on food because I’m broke now.”
