Changes in School Lunch Choices are a Good Thing

Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Raider Times staff nor its advisor.

This year, the lunches that Watertown High School is serving to the students are much healthier than the lunches sold last year. The school has also taken out sugary beverages, such as soda, and has taken out a lot of the snacks that were available the year before this. They replaced those snacks with healthier ones and have left the students with water, orange juice, and milk as options for beverages.

I like how the lunches are serving healthier choices for the students because it shows just how dedicated the staff of the school is to making the students better at what they do, no matter if it be playing sports or just studying for a test.

Even though I miss the options that were available to the student body last year, I do like how the lunches have gotten better, in terms of health. A problem across the country, obesity, is spreading to the young population and I believe that having the healthier lunches will help the process of combating this issue.

Mr. John Rimas, a World History and Civics teacher at the school, believes that the new school lunches are “beneficial to students because the people at the school chose healthier options for the students and it seems that the choices are better for students despite the costs.”

The cost of the lunches has risen since last year, but I believe that it is to help combat an issue and for the welfare of the students.

There are discrepancies between the students’ opinions of the lunches.  For example, there are people who believe that the new lunches are not beneficial to the student body as a whole. Laura Peckar, a seventeen-year old senior, believes that “some might believe that the school lunches are not beneficial to students due to the lack of choice involved. Not everyone can drink milk.” There are far fewer options for students, regarding snacks and beverages and that some students may not be able to drink milk because they are lactose-intolerant.

However, the school is trying to do the best it can do to face the issue of obesity. I believe that, by selling the healthier school lunches, the student body will be healthier as a whole.