Schools

Off-Campus Lunching Creates Problems

Watsonville High students pick local restaurants and stores over cafeteria fare.

The majority of Watsonville High School students are eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch in the campus cafeteria, but the teenagers often choose to get lunch at nearby restaurants and grocery stores instead.

A brief annoucement at a school board meeting earlier by the Watsonville High student representatives illuminated the issues created by students who leave campus for the noon meal.

Concerns about healthy food choices are paramount, Central Coast News reported Thursday.

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Also, if students don't sign up for free or reduced-cost lunches, they are ineligible for discounts on college tests, such as Advanced Placement exams, the students reported to the school board.

Only about a quarter of Watsonville High's students eat in the cafeteria, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, which reported on the lunch debacle Wednesday.

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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