New school food service implemented Acre Dining arrives
Charlotte Morris and Heidi Yeung Art Editor, Copy EdditorAs the school year begins, Convent & Stuart Hall’s dining program has shifted from Sage Dining Services to Acre Gourmet. Acre Gourmet is a dining service that operates much like Sage Dining, which catered the school in previous years, though Acre has a rotational menu that repeats periodically.
“I think that there will be a different flow [to how lunchtime operates], because the main entree is repeated in two different stations, which will help with efficiency,” Head of School Rachel Simpson said. “I trust that the food will be very delicious,”
Acre Gourmet also caters to other schools in the Bay Area, such as The Bay School of San Francisco, Katherine Delmar Burke School, and Cathedral School for Boys. As stated on their website, Acre Gourmet believes that “lunch time at school is not only a time to nourish, but also a time to educate and build community.”
Food in the cafeteria is now a self-serve system, where students and faculty take the entree themselves, rather than the entree being pre-portioned. This differs from how Sage Dining operated previously.
“I love the variety and color that Acre Gourmet offers,” junior Siena Bianchi said. “I appreciate that they give us a lot of options to choose from and that we can serve ourselves,”
The rotational menu is a different approach to that of Sage Dining, where the lunch menu would be fixed up to months in advance. Acre Gourmet has a six week long menu that will repeat when completed. This allows students to gain familiarity with the menu, while also having a
different meal every day.
“I liked Sage Dining a lot because of the variety of food it had, but I also have enjoyed the past few lunches as well,” sophomore Adania Cooper said. “I think that it will take getting used to, but overall, I have no complaints,”
There is now also a vegetarian menu available along with many other options for other dietary restrictions. The vegetarian menu is separate from the regular
menu, with alternative meat options such as Beyond Steak®, veggie dogs, and other plant-based meats.
“I think it is extremely important to have different options for people with certain dietary restrictions and meal preferences,” sophomore Elizabeth Fox said. “I also like how Acre Gourmet is being a lot more inclusive by adding a whole separate menu for vegetarians,”
California became the first state to
support all schools to have vegetarian options for lunch by passing the Assembly Concurrent Resolution 16 (ACR 16) this year, according to the CDE. More commonly referred to as the California Healthy School Lunch Resolution, it urges all schools to have vegetarian options for mealtimes.
“The food is very seasonal, in terms of the fruit and vegetables,” Simpson said. “Acre is very committed to staying organic and seasonal.”
Americans are loud
Ada Linde Editor-in-Chief
In early August, I went on the elected Copenhagen and Berlin trip with 16 of my classmates, Ms. Mac, Isla, and Dr. Jorgensen. There, we focused on Global Politics and Art, visiting important landmarks and famous art museums in both cities.
The trip was independently based — on our first day in each city, we would receive a “Seek N Find”, requiring us to visit anywhere from 10-15 landmarks in groups. Once there, we took selfies, sending them to our WhatsApp group chat and then moving to the next location. In between locations, we’d fend for ourselves, utilizing Tik Tok and Dr. Jorgensen’s recommendations to find lunch spots and cute shopping areas. Around 5:30 every night, we’d congregate as a whole group for a reflection period and talk about the next day. On our Art days, we’d receive a similarly formatted document — though this time with art museums and hotspots to visit — and we’d do it again.
I experienced and learned a lot on the trip. One thing which I didn’t expect to learn is how loud we are. As Arianna Manayan put it — in Europe, we learned our presence. I learned my presence when we were on our way from Værnedamsvej St to City Hall Square in Copenhagen: Karina Abernethy and I challenged ourselves to lower our speaking volume. What followed was noticing how loud our friends were. The next — how quiet Copenhagen was. We found that we actually appreciated the quiet. It was space to still hold a conversation, but also identify and respect the environment around us. Too often, I think, we find ourselves enraptured in a conversation, really excited about a topic, and we end up almost shouting. It’s important to take a step back and recognize our surroundings at the same time as the conversation we are a part of. Now back in America, I’ve thought about this discovery a lot. I’ve noticed the situations in which I tend to increase my volume, and in the process, I’ve also learned about myself. To those available to go on the Copenhagen trip next year, I urge you to apply. For those unable or reluctant, spend some time in the quiet. Lower your volume. See what it does for you.
