Tastier Healthy Foods Must Become an Option
NEIRAD enilno edition
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Ioften find myself leaving the lunch line with nothing to eat. The food in the cafeteria is the reason I go hungry. I’m not alone. From the grease-filled pizza to the stomach-sticking fries this institutional fare needs to change for the better.
I’m presented with two options when I walk into the cafeteria: an $8 tray of mystery food or the pavilion featuring pizza topped with more of that signature rubbery meat for $2.50 a slice.
The high fat content is a surprise considering DHS - like all American public schools - was required in the past few years to file health and wellness polices goals for food served at the school.
Yet those government mandates and the fact that grease seeps through a plate by the time the student returns to his seat would generally mean change is needed. But that doesn’t appear to be the practice at DHS. The school’s unhealthy food sells for crazy high prices: it doesn’t even take into account the hard economic times. The cafeteria charges $4.75 for its “chicken” wrap as well as $2 for a small juice that would usually sell for about 50 cents at most outside vendors.
There is a new bright spot in DHS institutional food land. The Blue Wave Sub Shop in the Aux Café serves quality Boar's Head meats. The deli gives Darien High School students a healthy affordable choice: sub, water and cookie for $5. The student can select a variety of freshly-sliced deli meats, cheeses and condiments. The only downside has been the long line of students eager for this tasty deal.
With state funds being reduced all over Connecticut, one can only hope
this doesn’t lead to a further decline in cafeteria options. Soon we might be seeing bailout food specials! How about a Monday economic downturn main course of dry- overcooked hamburgers with a side of fungi fries? The kind of meal where I know digestion is imminent when I feel a sickening ache extend through my body. It is a surprise they are even still selling these fries when so much other so-called junk food has been slashed from the menu. According to the Journal of School Health last year only 19 per cent of public schools still sold fries.
Admittedly, options are limited by such restrictions that force the schools to sell healthier fare in response to growing numbers of overweight teens. More than 15.5 percent of adolescents (ages 12–19) were overweight in 2000.
Up until two years ago the cafeteria sold Gatorade and then took it off their shelves due to the new restrictions. The replacements include Gatorade being swapped for Switch, an 8.3 fl oz juice soda that contains only 20 fewer calories than a 24-ounce sports drink. (Apparently sports drinks are considered worse on the health front than fries)
Read about the sub shop
