After four long hours of classes, Cal High’s collective stomach is grumbling.

Before lunch starts, students place orders on DoorDash and other food delivery services and eagerly wait in class for the food to arrive.

But when third or fourth periods end and everyone rushes to the front of the school, many students find their food missing.

Lunch thieves have struck once again.

This problem has been an evolving issue since the lunch table was moved outside the front office from inside in early 2015. By then, deliveries had became too disruptive with the rise of DoorDash and other delivery apps. It used to be just family and friends dropping off food.

Front office secretaries also used to take responsibility for lunch, but now, as the sign next to the food table reads, “Leave at your own risk.” 

To see who was stealing lunches, The Californian investigated what was happening at the scene of the crime.  This intrepid reporter ordered 10 items from The Habit and waited in front of the office 15 minutes before lunch started.

“It’s hard to leave the food on the table here because my responsibility is to give it [the food] to the person because I’m not sure if somebody else will pick it up,” said a DoorDash driver who identified himself only as Cruz.

Numerous DoorDash drivers dropped off bags of food in front of the office. After the lunch bell rang, many students picked up their food and left, while some were lingering around the area. 

Sophomore Mason Coler Dark had his lunch swiped.

“I think it’s really selfish that people decide to take other people’s lunches when that person went through a lot to order it or have it dropped off,” Coler Dark said. “Treat people the way you want to be treated.”

The issue has affected many hungry students that were deprived of a meal. 

Sophomore Evelyn Lee has had her lunch stolen six times this school year so far despite conducting her own stakeout to catch thieves.

“People think they can be entitled to other people’s things just because they can get away with it,” Lee said.

Sophomore Aishah Ridzuan agreed.

“I think the lunches are being stolen less for the reason that person that’s stealing is hungry, but more because they simply can,” Ridzuan said.

But freshman David Lee believes the lunch thieves steal food only because they are hungry or can’t afford it.

“I really don’t care about it [the food] because it only got stolen once,” he said.

Lunch stealing is still a relevant problem today at Cal. To all the lunch stealers out there, be considerate about how this might affect the person you stole the food from. Students take time and money to have their food brought to Cal.