On an average day, anywhere from 480 to 750 lunches pass through the lunch line at MHS. But not all of them are paid for.

Madison Ginsberg, senior, said she has witnessed students stealing from the lunch line.

“I was standing in line and two girls grabbed smoothies, put them in their purses, pretended they were talking to their friends and walked right out of the line,” Ginsberg said.

Ginsburg said others noticed the girls stealing, but no one said anything.

Davin Green, sophomore, said the lunchroom staff pay close attention to students.

Donna Tucek, cafeteria manager, said she hasn’t found lunchroom theft to be a huge problem this year, but she still occasionally has to deal with it. Cheeseburgers are the most common food item she has seen stolen.

“I’m not going to accuse if I’m not 100 percent sure,” Tucek said. “When we see a student take an item and slip it into their pocket, we give them a warning.”

Tucek said the lunchroom staff will let her know if they see anything suspicious, but after a first offense, there are no more warnings.

“The second time, we let them go all the way to their table and tell an administrator,” Tucek said.

In past years, Tucek has even had to look at footage from the cameras positioned at each of the four lunch lines.

Tucek said she attributes the decrease in thefts to an overall well-behaved student body.

Assistant Principal Carl Hudson has dealt with a student stealing food on one occasion.

“We resolved the issue pretty easily,” Hudson said.

Hudson said lunchroom theft could result in an out-of-school suspension. Students also have to pay for the food they stole. “I don’t think it’s a huge problem,” Hudson said. “Occasionally we have students who get sticky fingers.”