The 20-21 Cardinal Newman school year kicked off with not just a herd of new students, but also a new, COVID-19-safe lunch service. Great Eats offers a wide variety of school lunches available Monday through Friday. Students have a choice of daily meals or a selected entree as seen on their menu; the selection ranges from salads and sandwiches to chicken parmesan. To comply with COVID-19 procedures, Great Eats requires students to pre-order their lunches at any time, the latest being the night before. To minimize the amount of contact between the Great Eats employees and the students, the lunches are individually wrapped and boxed to be handed to the buyer after a wait in line. Thursdays of every week consist of freshly grilled Burgers, hot dogs, and chicken, while Fridays offer pizza slices.
The wide-variety of food incorporates both well cooked meals and poorly prepared eats; Great Eats’ lunch service is no exception. A junior expresses their opinion on the new service, saying, “I like it. The sandwiches are better. Though sometimes it’s soggy.” Despite miniscule culinary flaws, their food is a staple of the Cardinal Newman lunch periods. Every Friday, the many cafeteria tables are littered with multiple plates of sliced pizza, showing the school’s love of the homemade Italian favorite. A customer of last year’s food service, Katherine McCabe, a sophomore at Cardinal Newman, expresses, “Bottom line, it’s harder to order ahead of time. Last year I could just walk up and buy the food. This is a high school lunch, not a gourmet restaurant.” Overall, the  students of Cardinal Newman have differing opinions in regard to the new lunch service, provided by Great Eats Cafe.