The pizza dippers are gone. So are the packaged salads. But, hey, at least we’re having chicken again today.

New changes to the cafeteria menu caused much speculation at the beginning of this  school year.

More goes into developing the lunch menu than one may realize.  Here are some numbers to consider: approximately 1800-1900 students have purchased lunch in the district just during the month of September. The number has been progressively growing.

Those who purchase school lunch have an influence on what is offered and what has been discontinued. According to Mrs. Heather Triboletti, head of the food service department, a large portion of menu is based off of what students  purchase more.

Sometimes, though, there are other factors that influence what is offered.

Chicken, which makes frequent appearances on the menu, is not only popular, but it considered a “commodity food.” A commodity food is food that is offered by the state each month that is processed by different companies. Tyson is responsible for making the chicken products of the school, and the district gets more competitive prices if it buys chicken in bulk. Chicken is also a lot more nutritious than other foods that the school could buy instead.

Triboletti said that the government is really pushing stricter guidelines to benefit  the students.

“We’re suppose to really encourage students to take the healthier option,” she said.

Calorie guidelines have gotten stricter along with regulations about the grams of fat contained in the items sold in the cafeteria. Although the cafeteria staff cannot force students to make healthier food selections, it can offer more nutritious options.

As a senior reflecting back, it has changed over the course of the last few years. Back in my freshman year, students used to be able to double up on fries. Students also had the option as purchasing fries as their “entire” meal. Because of regulations that limit the number of calories and fat grams per meal, this option was no longer permitted. Additionally, the cafeteria kitchen currently lacks enough room or time to prepare as many fries as before.

But, what about the pizza dippers?

The pizza dippers disappeared because they exceeded 8 grams of fat (a limitation placed on the food providers). One option would be to lessen the portion of pizza dippers given to each meal.  However, in order to not sacrifice how much food the students are being served, changing the menu and keeping the quantity fair was deemed the better option.

Triboletti, however, did not have much control on the disappearance of the packaged salads. The salads are produced by the same company that produces the salads sold at Wawa. Many schools were offered the salads and had budgeted for them.  However, the company that produced the salads did not see much profits, so it cut off its service to schools.  Triboletti did indicate that at any time, the company could change its mind, and students may see these pre-packaged salads again.

Other changes to the cafeteria menu may have gone under the radar.  For example, the milk offerings this year are different. Flavored milk (such as chocolate or strawberry) is now made with skim milk (as opposed to 2% or whole). The plain milk is slightly under 1%, and, interestingly enough, is a specific kind of milk made especially for school consumption.