The Ranger Cafe is a food shop located inside Lakewood High School. All of the food is made in-house by students enrolled in the Culinary Arts program through West Shore. The Cafe opens every year around the end of October and is open til the end of the school year.

Anyone can dine in or order out– quite the benefit. It is open from 12:00 to around 1:30; these hours are based on when students are in class and when they are learning hands on.

The food that is served at the Cafe is Soup of the Day, four different salads, four different sandwiches, four different entrees, and a variety of sides. The sides include Pommes Fritas, seasonal veggies, fries, mushroom risotto, and smashed garlic-herb potatoes.

So, with all the controversy and hatred over school lunches, the question that intrigues me is, “Why can’t students order from the Ranger Cafe?”

Students complain about how school lunches taste all the time; how uncooked the food is, how cold the food is, how it has no flavor.

On the other hand, we hear teachers rave about the Ranger Cafe food; how freshly cooked, how warm, and how it is like a home cooked meal.

Students would enjoy buying lunch if they could order from the Cafe that is located inside our school. I asked Maddie Zingale her thoughts on student use of the Ranger Cafe, “I would love if we could order from there. The food is delicious! Not only would like the food being served to us, but it would make the school money.”

I agree with Maddie 110%. We should be able to savor the food we eat while at school, while it benefiting the West Shore Cooking Program.

All in all, the Ranger Cafe is a part of our school and should be open for student use!