High school to have limited access to Subway fare

Laguna Beach High School students will be able to buy premade sandwiches from Subway on Mondays once they return to school this fall as part of an agreement reached between Laguna Beach Unified School District and the sandwich company’s local franchise owner.

Whether the city’s other schools will have the same option depends on sales at the high school.

Turkey or ham sandwiches will be sold at the high school Sept. 9, the first Monday of the school year, Shannon Soto, the district’s fiscal services director, wrote in an email.

Subway will no longer be delivering individual orders to any of the district’s four schools, as it had done last year, Soto said.

“If a parent wishes for their child to have a custom Subway [order], the parent must pick up the sandwich from Subway directly and bring it to the school office,” Soto said. “This is a consistent policy for any student forgetting a lunch.”

The district’s registered dietitians, Megan Hartshorne and Melissa Manning, confirmed the premade sandwiches met nutritional guidelines, and district officials are hoping to deliver such sandwiches to the three other schools in October, according to Soto.

“Sandwiches will come with American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers on wheat bread,” Soto said. “The bread, cheese and vegetables will remain the same (every week) — only the protein will change.”

Laguna Beach High School will serve as a test case to gauge whether students would order the sandwiches at Top of the World, El Morro and Thurston Middle School, according to Soto.

Last year’s sandwich deliveries caused concern among district officials, who worried that the practice competed with the district’s free and reduced-price lunches, which need to adhere to federal nutrition guidelines.

Daniel Riscalla, owner of the Subway at 1350 S. Coast Hwy., said previously that he wanted to work with the district on an agreement. Riscalla could not be reached for comment by deadline for this story.

The district will keep tabs on sales figures for the sandwiches once classes begin, and Soto said they hope to put Subway on all the schools’ menus in October if they sell well at the high school.