Mac-n-cheese bar meal with chicken, broccoli, a brownie, and Mac-n-cheese
We all have preferences for what our diet is. Some people like spice, others like flavor, but what about those who prefer it plain? I’m not talking about food restrictions; I’m talking about the picky eaters. The past two days of our stay at Kalahari have been filled with adventure and excitement, until we received complaints about our food. The first night of our stay, we were treated to dinner at a macaroni and cheese bar. This had a lot of variety and was open to all types of people who like different types of flavors and textures.
The majority of the people had few complaints about the food. But on Friday the 27th and Saturday the 28th, breakfast was not provided. We were given breakfast snacks on Thursday night, but the YMCA youth government program told us to have a “hearty breakfast.” On Friday, lunch was provided, which was chicken burritos. The burrito consisted of: Burrito tortilla, grilled chicken, white rice, cheese sauce, and beans. We were also given nachos, with the option of queso, along with a bottle of water. Most people would say this is a well-balanced meal. But, for the people who have texture preferences when it comes to food, beans and cheese sauce isn’t what they can stomach. For the majority of the delegates I was around, including myself, were picking apart the burrito, only eating the chicken, rice, and the tortilla.
I asked 100 delegates if they were satisfied with the lunch on Friday. 54 said no, and 46 said yes. This is over half of the delegates that I interviewed who weren’t happy with their meal. Everyone has different opinions on food, but not this many people should be dissatisfied with lunch. Dinner on Friday was a taco bar, with the choice of a crunchy or soft taco, salad, and food that goes in the taco. The chicken was spicy, the ground meat had peppers, and the cheese had sour cream and jalapenos. This wasn’t the most picky-eater-friendly meal for most. There was a good number of delegates and volunteers who did enjoy the taco bar, but not all. There was no label on any of the food to know if it has a spice level. One of the delegates that I met took a bite and said that it’s spicy. This caught her off guard, making her skeptical of her dinner. From delegate Yuyi Wang, “My favorite meal was the mac-n-cheese bar, and I loved the brownies that they gave us. But the beans in the burrito gave me stomach problems.” A delegate named Rachel Beris, who is vegetarian, said, “I like how they had vegetarian options, because I don’t like meat. There were enough non-meat options per meal.”
Organizing dinner for 1,300 teens isn’t easy, but with so many critics, a change should be taken into consideration for how long the delegates are staying.
Lizzy Malina