School lunch sucks. Correction – school lunch used to suck. All my life, I have heard complaints like “Cafeteria food is disgusting,” and “I want to hurl,” and most of the time I agreed. School lunches are never as good as what you get at a restaurant or at home, but finally, it is clear that the cafeteria staff at Grady has stepped up its game.

Many students don’t eat school lunch. It’s understandable. The cafeteria is a scary place, but there is no reason to fear anymore.

With the introduction of this school year came a new line dubbed Street Eatz. The line has had pulled pork barbecue sandwiches, high quality chicken nuggets, almost on par with the nuggets from Chick-fil-A, and my personal favorite, the jalapeno roll. Alongside these entrees are a plethora of sauces ranging from Sriracha Ranch to Spicy Barbecue. If that doesn’t sound appetizing, then I don’t know what does.

Not only were there changes to the menu, they also gave the lines a complete visual makeover. The Street Eatz line has signs which show you exactly what is in the  sauces and what kinds of food it will be serving. The cafeteria  also installed signs showing the nutrition facts of its main entrees and side dishes. You can easily see exactly how many calories are in the food you are eating. There are no more secret ingredients. The new line looks more like something out of a food court rather than a school cafeteria.

This is my third year eating school lunch here at Grady, and there certainly have been ups and downs. Right now, it is up. My freshman year, 2013-2014, was what you would expect from cafeteria food – edible, but nothing too spectacular. I first noticed the changes last year. The smoothies they have in the cafeteria are fruity goodness, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

“The food is usually low quality except the new Street Eatz, that is pretty solid.” junior Kevin Khoshnood said, who has been eating school lunch since the first grade. “Street Eatz has by far the highest quality food and the best tasting food, but it is usually plagued with a long line.”

Khoshnood isn’t the only one who has noticed this change either. When I used to bring my school lunch to the table, it would be mocked and laughed at, but now, I’ve had people ask me for food and even go buy a school lunch themselves.

Take a break from the peanut butter and jelly and the ham and cheese sandwiches your mom packs in your lunches. Go to the cafeteria and try out the new Street Eatz line, or any of the other three lines they have. You don’t need to be afraid of mystery meat or old veggies. Take a chance; try it out. You won’t regret it.