Students are always looking for different places to go for lunch that are cheap, nearby and that serve appetizing food. Look no further than the southeast corner of Plano Parkway and Dallas North Tollway. For two dollars, students can go to St. Andrews Methodist Church every Wednesday with their friends for Lunch Bunch. Likewise, across the street from A building, at Congregation Anshai Torah, there is a free monthly lunch, Wolfstein Deli. Although they are held at places of worship, students who are not affiliated are welcomed with open arms.

Currently, most of the students that regularly attend Lunch Bunch are seniors who have been going since their junior year. Many of them heard about the news from last year’s seniors and from other students who are a part of St. Andrews.

“More people should definitely be going,” senior Haley Tripp said. “It’s awesome, and the profits benefit the church and youth group, which in turn helps the community as well.”

Each week at the church, a group of volunteer parents help set up for Lunch Bunch prior to A and B lunch hours. Preparation ultimately takes around an hour for each group. However, all the time and work put into it pays off. Each week’s menu differs from the last, allowing plenty of room for variation and little room for students to become bored.

“It’s a tough choice, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Taco Day,” junior Brian Halliday said. “Even though the rest of the food is amazing, the tacos are pretty hard to beat.”

Additionally, at Congregation Anshai Torah across from Willow Bend Drive, Wolfstein Deli is held every second Tuesday of the month. The lunch is free and all Jewish students and their friends are invited.

“Any Jewish high school student is welcome,” Anshai Torah event coordinator Helaine Kramsky said. “Students come from numerous congregations in the area, and unaffiliated Jewish students are also welcome.”

While at Anshai Torah, the students in attendance often engage in a group-wide conversation about current holidays or issues in the news. The discussions are led and moderated by Rabbi Stefan Weinberg and Rabbi Michael Kushnick.

“The lunch helps create a more close-knit Jewish community and gives us a way to talk about how the school approaches Judaism,” senior Rachel Mitchell said. “They always have interesting topics for us to discuss, and it makes the lunch more fun.”

For all students in need of a place to eat during lunch that is convenient to get to and also inexpensive, houses of worship are not the first places that come to mind. However, because of Lunch Bunch and the monthly lunch held at Congregation Anshai Torah, it is now a possibility.

“I like to go and keep going because it’s a fun, cheap and good lunch that I look forward to every Wednesday,” Tripp said.