Sapphire chefs arrive at the kitchen at 5 AM daily to prepare food. The egg burritos are scrambled and wrapped, the ham is put inside the sandwiches and the registers open when students arrive.

“I occasionally buy stuff in the morning, [stuff] like their breakfast items,” Sierra Wild, sophomore, says, “and then I’ll usually buy something at lunch and then after school.”

She notes that a typical day usually easily adds up to over $10. After all, the gummy snacks and Tate’s cookies at the register are too hard to resist.

“I understand that they have to make a profit,” Wild says. “The [quality of food] that they buy [compared to] the amount that they give us—I think they overcharge… a bit.”

Azmin Ghahreman, owner/ head chef of Sapphire Laguna, says that Sapphire at Sage buys in bulk from SISCO Products.

“We try to use fresh products as much as possible, [and] organic products when we can, [because] that’s expensive,” Ghahreman says, “but we always use antibiotic-free meat.”

And as for the extravagant pricing of items such as sliced fruit or box of edamames, Ghahreman explains that it is because “there is labor going into it.

“And you see that stuff (pre-sliced fruits) sitting on the shelf [of grocery stores] for three or four days,” Ghahreman says. “You see our stuff sitting for just a few days.”

Sapphire has always advertised that students’ health and nutrition are on top of the kitchen’s list. Last year, the brand Naked Juice was discontinued for the reason that one bottle exceeded the total daily recommended sugar intake. However, strangely enough, they were restocked shortly after.

“We talked to one of the coaches, [who] recommended to us [that] a lot of you guys do a lot of exercise and need sugar,” Jaime Gaundo, Sapphire chef, said, “so it’s back, and there are different types of kids: if you want to get strong, you eat more fat, more protein, more stuff, and if you’re on a diet, you eat less.”

“Cookies are another thing that maybe isn’t too great to offer, but kids like them and ask for them,” Chef Ghahreman said, “so we’re trying to balance [a value] that is part of our program and giving the kids what they want.”

So what exactly is the difference between the supposedly health-centric, nourishing Sapphire kitchen and off-campus fast food? What are students getting when they pay the extra bucks for their boxed lunches?

“Well, I guess you can go to McDonald’s and get a couple of cheeseburgers—is that good food, is that what you want your kids to eat?” Ghahreman said. “I don’t even know what it costs to go to this school, so spending $5.50 for a lunch isn’t that expensive, you know.”

But no fear: the money you put in was for a charitable cause, as Chef Ghahreman notes that Sage students’ lunch money is feeding his very hardworking employees.

“We don’t make money: it’s not about that,” Ghahreman says, “it’s about feeding kids, and keeping our employees working.”