Original art by Jordan Frazier.
With more students wanting to get free lunch, Washington High School has implemented a new rule to make the meals more healthy and balanced for students. This policy began at the start of February. The rule states that during brunch, students must take 3 out of the 4 items offered. They can choose either 1 milk, 1 fruit or vegetable juice, 1 grain, and 1 meat/protein. For lunch, students must have at least 3 out of the 5 components offered, and one of the items taken must be a juice, fruit, or vegetable. Many students are conflicted about this rule, with some saying they think it is beneficial and others viewing it as forcing them to take something they don’t want.
The purpose of this rule was for Washington to meet the district’s nutritional requirements for the free lunches served. Many students think this rule is beneficial for their lunch because it reminds them to take a healthier food option. Senior Anthony Garza states, “I think this new rule has made a positive impact so far as I see more students getting healthier food options like salads or more fruits and vegetables.” It seems Anthony is one of the students that likes the new rule and wouldn’t change anything about the policy: “I think the new rule is fine because it makes the students’ meals more healthier and balanced,” he states.
“I think this new rule has made a positive impact so far as I see more students getting healthier food options like salads or more fruits and vegetables.”
While there are many students that like this new rule for their meals, there are also a couple of students that think there needs to be some changes. Washington senior Nnanyere Obioma thinks that the new policy isn’t as perfect as it seems, stating “I think it has been great for students here because I see students that get more fruits and vegetables but there are still a lot of food options that are not healthy at all and are always available.” When questioned if he would like to make any adjustments to the new rule, he says, “I feel like the school needs to deploy the unhealthy food options less frequently like the chicken sandwiches and pizza.”
Overall, it seems as though the new policy does work for many students, as more have started to get more healthier and nutritious food options. But even with this policy, it seems that some students are still picking up unhealthy options like pizza and burgers. A solution to this could be limiting the pizza and chicken sandwiches. Instead of having them served everyday, they could be served every other day. Otherwise, this new rule has done a great job balancing students’ lunches and has helped Huskies eat healthier.
Armaan is a senior at Washington High School and has lived in Fremont his entire life. This is Armaan’s first year at the paper and he is very excited to be here. Some interests that Armaan has in journalism are writing about sports and talking about what people like to do in their free time. Some hobbies I do in my free time are play basketball and watch football. My future plans are to go to college, get a degree, and find a job that pays well.