Students in Bakersfield College have noticed variations in food portions they have received at the cafeteria, with some leaving with much more food on their plates than others. This is making students concerned about fairness, and they are starting to question if they are all being served portions of food evenly.

“I don’t believe they give fair portions because I see others getting bigger portions than me and it makes me wonder if the food is evenly distributed,” said Uma, a student at BC.

The issue of food portions became more noticeable during busy times, when the cafeteria is crowded with students. To help with some questions, Lou, a cafeteria worker, gave some answers to understanding the portion process from the staff’s perspective.

“Most of the time the amount of food you get on your plate depends on two things: who’s behind the counter and what time of day it is,” Lou explained. “Some workers just tend to give less portions than others, especially during rush hours when there are a lot of students with orders, at that point we start eyeballing it instead of measuring,” she exclaimed.

While the cafeteria staff is supposed to measure portions, they often aren’t capable during peak hours to give each student exact measurements of each item of food, so they resort to estimating the amount. Lou also explained that the decision of portions largely depends on what fits on the plate and what type of food is being served.

Despite the rules the workers must follow to confirm consistency, students like Daisy feel that the system is flawed. “It just feels unfair when I see others with more food,” she said. “I think there should be a clearer system to make sure everyone gets the same amount of food.”

With the cafeteria workers balancing busy hours and the pressure to be able to serve quickly, some students have suggested that a more consistent approach to measuring portions could improve the chaotic situation.

Whether it’s intentional or a result of working in a time crunch, the varying portion sizes have raised concerns among students who regularly buy from the cafeteria. As the semester progresses, it remains to be seen if the cafeteria will address these concerns or if it will continue to have effects on students who pay for these unequal portions.