Fun Food Friday (FFF) needs to be reworked. It is one of those ideas that sounds perfect on paper. It’s cheerful, it’s community-oriented and it raises money for class cabinets and clubs. We get to support our peers and eat something different. But the system we’ve built around it has drifted from “fun” to fragile. Fun Food Friday is no longer just a treat; for many students, it’s effectively their only option, with Bevaris being unavailable during lunch on Fridays. Therefore, we should add Bevaris as an alternative option in addition to FFF. 

One of the main issues with FFF is its cost. The meals offered through FFF are almost always more expensive than the standard Bevaris lunch; a standard Raising Cane’s Combo is 14 dollars, nearly double the price of a standard Bevaris lunch.

Then there is the timeline. Announcements typically drop on a Tuesday or Wednesday, which is typically when students become aware of FFF, and the form closes quickly from there—sometimes within a day. If you miss the window because you had a test, practice, or simply forgot (teenagers forgetting things isn’t exactly breaking news), you’re stuck. There’s no reliable backup. You can’t buy the fundraiser item the day of if sales are capped. And if you do make the list, there’s the line: a long, slow march that eats 30 minutes of a 45-minute lunch, leaving you inhaling fries while the bell rings. 

Sophomore Michael Patakis mentioned, “The line is always a pain, even if the teacher lets you out a few minutes early.” This is especially the case when most people cut in front of the line, so when you are at the back of the line, you feel like the line has not moved at all for more than 20 minutes. 

Moreover, there is the issue of inclusion and equity. Many students at Poly are vegetarians or pescetarians, meaning that when the only choices on a Raising Cane’s menu–one of the most popular FFF options–are chicken, fries, toast and coleslaw, ordering FFF isn’t exactly an option. Although FFF often does have vegetarian options, unlike Bevaris, they do not guarantee that additional options every time, and even if it did, it is oftentimes not pleasing. Sophomore Theo Faraon commented, “Fun Food Friday is extremely repetitive. I love Raising Cane’s, but FFF has sold it 3-4 times this year already.” What does this mean? This means that these students, many of whom do not regularly bring lunch to school, have to either not eat or eat coleslaw for lunch—both of which are extremely inequitable. 

Additionally, there is accessibility. Even after off-campus privileges open up sometime in the school year, not everyone wants to spend their entire lunch rushing to Lake and rushing back; many students want to utilize that opportunity to finish work, meet with a teacher, or simply hang out with friends.

Poly attempts to promote community-building by encouraging students to stay on campus on Fridays. However, when there are numerous problems with FFF, going off campus becomes the only viable option for lunch, leading students to split up and head to different lunch spots.

Opening up Bevaris lunch in addition to FFF would help cultivate this community-building at Poly. The Bevaris food system, which offers lunch from Monday through Thursday, is familiar and predictable. The menu is built upon things that students like, it is provided on all four days in the rest of the week and it is free for faculty and staff. On Fridays, though, Bevaris can feel sidelined because it is not an option at all, as if we have to choose between supporting student fundraisers and making sure everyone simply eats. We can do both, and that is why Bevaris needs to be open on Fridays as well. 

Here’s the simple fix: Poly should provide Bevaris as a parallel option every Friday. Keep the fundraiser; keep the excitement; keep the community boost. But also guarantee a lower-cost, no-preorder lunch that doesn’t run out, doesn’t require a week’s foresight and doesn’t demand a 25-minute wait.

FFF should feel like a celebration, not a stress test. By adding Bevaris as a guaranteed, parallel option, we can keep the spirit of the tradition without compromising access. Let’s keep the fun and fix the food on Fridays.