As my friends and I sat under a tree in the quad early this year, we took off the styrofoam lid of the school lunch that day — a comforting bowl of beef stew. The dismal sky perfectly complemented the warm, steaming stew. The perfectly flavored vegetables and perfectly soft beef chunks — which didn’t look like they had been processed three times and freeze dried another three times — made my mouth salivate. The soft carrots, potatoes and onions were flavored perfectly. There wasn’t a trace of food that could cause heart palpitations and life was perfect. 

Little did we know, my friends and I would never be served this dish again. 

I don’t know why beef stew is no longer among the offerings, but I’m willing to spend money as needed to eat this delicious meal again for a school lunch — and I’m not alone.