Calabasas High School discontinued its cafeteria breakfast service for the 2024-2025 school year, causing questions from students and parents. The replacement was due to lower demand for food early in the morning and growing during nutrition.
Superintendent Dr. Dan Stepenosky played a key role in the transition between the time breakfast is served and explained the statistics behind student demand.
“Before [this school year] we were averaging about 6,800 kids a month, and then in the first month of this year, we are now averaging 8,400 kids participating in nutrition,” said Stepenosky.
This change reflects a clear shift in student habits, as fewer students choose to eat breakfast early in the morning. But does it matter?
“I am upset about the change because we don’t have enough time to get in line and get food at nutrition, but in the morning, I was able to come early and get breakfast without a line,” said sophomore Evie Scholte.
The school providing access to nutritious food at the start of the day has always been considered necessary. As breakfast was early, students were focused on getting to their classes rather than stopping by the cafeteria for a meal. Not many students utilized the opportunity to eat in the morning, so the school did not see a need for it anymore.
“It was that student demand and student interest,” said Stepenosky.
Another key factor was the efficiency of the cafeteria staff. When breakfast was served before school started, the food preparation process was often rushed, leading to food being microwaved or quickly cooked to meet the time crunch. This not only made the quality of the meals worse but also placed additional work on the staff.
“Our cafeteria is able to have breakfast at nutrition … before, they were microwaving and cooking really fast,” said Stepenosky.
Staff members hope that this extra time will allow them to cook breakfast from scratch and give students healthier and more nutritious options than the food items previously served. So far, students have not noticed a change in the food quality.
“The food taste and quality stayed the same,” said sophomore Evie Scholte.
The adjustment from breakfast to nutrition service at CHS shows the power of students’ voices and that some changes are made for unexpected reasons. This transformation is only implemented at CHS and Agoura High School rather than LVUSD as a whole.
