> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Lunch time madness at Lincoln - URL: https://www.smdp.com/lunch-time-madness-at-lincoln/ - Published: 2008-02-18T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T18:34:55.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import What is considered perhaps the most popular period of the day for students has just commenced at Lincoln Middle School, which on this Thursday afternoon, just happens to be Valentine’s Day. The students, many wearing Valentine’s Day themed colors, are busy killing two birds with one stone — eating their lunches and handing out cards to their BFFs. One of the biggest lines forms in front of the barbecue where students wait for burg-ers to cook off the grill. Sixth grader Alex Talley is among the students waiting to grab a burger, one of his three favorite lunch options, along with the salad bar and the occasional Asian food served during the week. Talley usually prefers to buy than opt for the brown bag, mainly because he thinks it’s less time consuming and better. “The food is good, but it shouldn’t be so fattening,” Talley said. “I like most of everything they serve here.” The students at Lincoln seem to have a variety of opinions about the quality of food served to them day in and day out, some saying they like the variety, others wanting to see fresher offerings. One thing that the students here seem to have in common is that they’re health conscious for their age, something school administrators say is a result of a nutrition program offered as part of the physical education curriculum. Seth Morgan, a seventh grader, said he has been watching what he eats ever since he had an adverse reaction to a Rice Krispies Treat. He checked the snacks’ label and was surprised to see the high sugar content. “I didn’t feel good so now I watch what I eat,” Morgan said. Many of the students who buy lunch every day say they do so because of how little time they have in the morning. Francesca Pezzullo, a seventh grader, gets up at 6:30 every morning and said she never has time to prepare lunch. Instead, she starts her day buy eating a bagel purchased from the school, followed by a trip to the salad bar or barbecue grill for lunch. “I don’t think it’s the greatest quality of produce and it’s not as fresh as it could be, but in the end it all tastes good,” Pezzullo said. Others students say they like to bring lunch to school because of their own eating habits, preferring to have control over what is available to them that day. “I’m a picky eater,” seventh grader Edie Cote, who brings seaweed, rice cakes and leftover rice to school every day, said. Chloe Meisner is one of the few students who work at the lunch cart every day, helping one of the lunch staff members to serve pizza and nachos in an expeditious manner. She started helping out last year as a sixth grader at the salad bar, bringing the empty dishes to the cafeteria kitchen when a counselor approached the student and asked if she be interested in helping serve pizza and nachos. By the time she’s done on Thursday, there’s about 10 minutes left in the lunch period, a time when she normally pulls an Asian pork bun or peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of her lunch bag. But on this Thursday, she opted for a school lunch. “It’s pretty good here,” she said. “I don’t have much to complain about.” The goal of the lunch program here, according to administrators, is to encourage kids to make the best nutritional choices. “I see kids make good choices,” Lincoln Principal Tristan Komlos said. “For the most part, kids here eat well. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 18, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/021808.pdf?ref=smdp.com)