Cafeteria changes good or bad?

Students are noticing a difference in the Casa Grande High School cafeteria as recipes and portions change due to new state law nutritional requirements. California’s new standards control the amount of calories, sugar, sodium, electrolytes and other nutrients in the food sold at schools. To accommodate these new standards, the cafeteria has altered its menu in serving size and recipe, and many familiar brands have been replaced.

John Weaver, who works with the cafeteria to purchase foods and ingredients, explained the situation. “Calorie counts and all of that stuff have to be under a certain amount. They’re super strict on those standards - if we don’t follow, we get fined. We also had to find new brands of drinks that fit the standards. We can’t sell the big Gatorades and Powerades anymore due to calorie and sugar count.”

But the real question is: Will the restrictions be beneficial to students?

The focus on meeting state regulations does mean that the food served will be held to higher nutritional standards than it was previously. However, the means by which the cafeteria achieves these standards are not necessarily the best solutions. By changing the serving size, the same recipes are able to come in under the limits, but some students complain that the portion sizes are not enough.

“I honestly think the portions are a bit small for high schoolers who are growing. Some kids want two burgers, and we can’t give them to them. Some kids want more cheese, and we can’t give it to them. It’s all about getting under the standards,” said Weaver.

The new recipes have also lead to criticism about taste. Sophomore Kevin Adams purchases cafeteria food about once a week, but he does not enjoy the new recipes. “It’s not necessarily just that it’s lower in fat. The chicken tastes microwaved and it’s kind of soggy,”  said Adams.

 Adams sees a combination of positive and negative changes. “It’s pretty gross food, but I really like the drinks. Those are cool,” said Adams.

It is clear that the plan to meet the new California nutritional standards is flawed. Despite its shortcomings, Weaver contends that “the government has the right idea with the new nutritional standards, but the program is poorly executed.”

It seems that the changes in the cafeteria serve the state standards, but they are less successful at serving the standards of the students.

(Kate Hoover and Maxwell Yu are students at Casa Grande High School and members of the Gaucho Gazette. This story originally appeared in the Gaucho Gazette.)