How New York City Students Helped Redesign School Lunch
Student advocates have shaped menus and cafeterias, and one advocacy group reports lunch participation is up 35% in redesigned high schools.
New York City teenagers have had a measurable hand in what and how their classmates eat at school, according to Reasons to Be Cheerful.
Students at the table
The story follows Leslie Gomez Rivera, who at 16 avoided her Brooklyn high school's cafeteria because of the food, the crowding and the stigma around school meals. Through Youth Food Advocates, a program of Community Food Advocates, she learned food-policy research, surveyed schoolmates in late 2020, and worked with school staff to promote a redesigned cafeteria that returned to full use.
What has changed
- Menus: new items are taste-tested with students, and need at least 70% approval to be considered for the citywide menu
- Cafeterias: student-informed designs favour deli-style stations, more choice, multiple service lines and more comfortable seating
- Scale: by December 2025, more than 200 cafeterias had been renovated
- Participation: Community Food Advocates reports lunch participation rose 35% at redesigned high schools, based on its analysis of city data
Earlier youth campaigning also fed into the city's 2017 move to universal free school meals.
Why it matters
Researcher Pamela Koch of Teachers College, Columbia University says students are best placed to give feedback, though it needs to be specific to be useful. The approach treats cafeteria staff as partners rather than targets.
Caveats
The 35% figure comes from the advocacy group's own analysis, and the piece is part of a series supported by UPIC Health.