No kitchen for Gifford students

Gifford Street Alternative High School won't be getting a kitchen anytime soon.

Complications at the 100-year-old downtown Elgin building, including weight restrictions and a lack of plumbing in the cafeteria, make the project too costly, Elgin Area School District U-46 Executive Director of Operations Jeff King said.

"We're not going to do anything this year," King said. "It's really hard to speculate when. It's going to be a really large expense."

In February, Gifford Street students complained to the school board about inadequate lunch services.

"We're served the same lunches as are made for elementary students," 19-year-old Robbie Stark said."It's not adequate nutrition."

King said his department looked into the matter after Stark spoke.

"They're actually not elementary lunches," King said. "We've expanded them so the meet the same standards as at the other high schools."

Still, school counselor Jessica Cullinane said, the pregnant students who attend the school's prenatal program are given cereal bars by the nurse's office to supplement their lunches.

During the school year, Cullinane says she hears lunch complaints by the week.

The building - half of which is used for administrative purposes - has no kitchen to prepare its own meals, and just one water fountain.

Prepackaged lunches are delivered to the school's 220 students by food service workers who assemble the meals in a nearby staging area.

In addition to the prepackaged meals, other foods, such as sandwiches and pizzas are frequently brought in from third party vendors, King said.

"It would be nice to expand on their options. We're looking at doing more of that," King said. "As long as it would meet health standards, that's fine."