Lakeland High School students in tenth grade and up are able to leave during lunch, so they have more options for food. 

Because Rathdrum is so small, there are only a few options around the area for students to pick between at lunch.

Some of these places include McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, Super One, and San Fransisco Sourdough. 

Lunch is thirty minutes long, from 11:40-12:10. 

Although the opportunity to leave is greatly appreciated, students wish lunch was a more extended period, so they could have more time to eat lunch. 

“I wish lunch was longer than the time we get now. If you decide to go somewhere to get lunch, you spend most of your time trying to get there,” said Caroline Gallus, a junior at LHS. “By the time you get out of the parking lot, drive there, and come back, you only have a few minutes to eat your food.” 

Other students live close enough to the school that they are able to go home for lunch. 

Landen Burmeister, a sophomore at Lakeland, finds that it is easier to go home rather than go to other places. 

“It’s pretty easy to just go home to lunch with my friends. We can make food there and save money,” said Burmeister. “I wish we had more time, though, because there is not always time for four different people to use my microwave.”

Other students also enjoy going to their houses because of the cost efficiency. 

Jordan Bucaroff, a junior at LHS, also likes going to his house to save money.

“It saves me a lot of money to eat at home, and the food is usually way better anyways. Going to places like Taco Bell and Mcdonald’s costs me money. I also am burnt out on all the fast food places around here,” said Bucaroff.  

Eating at the school is also an option; however, it is no longer free compared to previous years. 

Since the food is no longer free, that pushed kids to choose to eat off-campus rather than at school. 

“I ate the school food every day for freshman year. I got super tired of it, and I don’t feel like paying for it,” said Bucaroff. 

Students like Bucaroff try to eat on a budget while still going off campus. 

Having the opportunity to go off campus for lunch is something most students take advantage of, so they have a broader variety of food options.