As students stepped into Fraser High School on the first day back from summer, they were prepared for many things to be different from previous years. The fact that block scheduling had been switched around and there would now be seminar everyday was something that most everyone was already aware of. However, not many were informed that there would also be drastic changes to the food sold at the school.

Due to strict government regulations, Fraser High, and all other public high schools in America, were forced to adhere to the new USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) laws that were conceived to stop childhood obesity and illness by creating healthier school meals.

“It’s been a very long time, maybe 60 years or so, since the government has actually changed the guidelines for school lunches so this was a big deal for them to go through. They did a lot of research and worked with a lot of doctors, physicians, and other health professionals to come up with their guidelines,” Fraser’s Food Service Director Carolyn Morfino commented.

Among dozens of other requirements for the school year of 2014-2015, every snack item has to be at least 51 percent whole grain, every high school breakfast has to have a minimum of one cup of fruit, and every high school lunch must have a minimum of one cup of vegetables.

There are also calorie, sodium, fat, and sugar limits. For example, snack items can be no more than 200 calories while entrees can be no more than 350 calories. And sugar can be no more than 35 percent of the total weight of an item.

These new requirements have changed or completely gotten rid of many of the student’s favorite food items. Bagels have been taken off of the snack menu and fries are no longer sold at The Fraser Grill. Fraser High’s infamous chocolate-chip cookies even had to change in order to follow the new whole grain laws.

“The new cookies have a different taste to them. I feel like some people are still buying them, but others aren’t because they don’t have the old traditional taste to them,” Senior Marina Ghatas explained.

Obviously, much of the student population is not particularly overjoyed by these changes. They feel that government has no right to attempt to control what they do or do not eat. Even some adults don’t quite agree with the way that the government is going about this new plan.

“I feel that some of the changes are good. Allowing students to have more fruits and vegetables if they chose to take them is a wonderful thing,” Morfino expressed. “The guidelines are great for younger students but in my personal opinion I feel like high school students are very close to being on their own and they need to be taught how to make good choices, not forced.”

Another popular complaint is that these changes will not even make an indent in the health of students. If the government creates smaller portions then students will simply buy more portions. And if the government switches out the food that students are used too with healthier food that does not taste as good, students will simply stop buying from the school and just bring their food from home.

Interestingly enough, however, so far lunch sales have actually gone up at FHS this year. Maybe this could be due to prices going down, or for all we know the incoming freshman class could be very fond of hot lunches. But perhaps this positive change could actually be linked to the new requirements.

“I appreciate that the changes have made us have to work harder to appeal to teenagers. We’ve been trying more dishes, and lunch sales have actually gone up. Last year we were selling about 500 lunches a day, but this year is has turned to around 700,” Lunch lady Carrie Rondeau remarked.

But the ever-present possibility of lunch sales taking a turn for the worse could pose a whole new problem: How will these changes affect the income of the school? If student’s favorite foods are taken away or drastically changed then what’s to stop them from ceasing to buy anything at all from the school and simply giving their money to stores who will let them buy whatever they desire?

“It is always a concern to make sure that the food service program is at least sustaining itself and not costing the school money. We are trying to be creative and find things that students like, and we are hoping to get more items as the year goes on,” assured Morfino.

Although there are many downsides to the new health ordinances, few are denying that there are some positives as well. For instance, hasn’t being healthier been the number one New Year’s Resolution in America for several years now? So perhaps having the government step in and give us adolescents the little shove we need isn’t such a bad thing. On the flip side, it could also be considered a massive overstep of boundaries.

Whether the new food requirements are a positive or negative thing is a large cause of debate in the halls of Fraser High, regardless we are stuck with them for the immediate future. Only time will tell if the results will truly improve student’s lives or do just the opposite.