Written by Madison Heidkamp and Paul Hotchkiss|

Many students here at The Morgan School have grown accustom to the rich, delicious breakfast and lunch menus that our school offers. However, due to the new meal requirements and nutrition standards of the National School Lunch Program aimed at combatting obesity and unhealthy eats, the school has been forced to toss the old menu and inherit an entirely new one. This has caused havoc in our school, and people want answers as to why this is happening.

Immediately, the first person the student body started pointing fingers at was our Food Services Director, John Siciliano. But could there be a chance that they may be blaming the wrong person? After speaking with Mr. Siciliano, we came to the conclusion that the student body has it all wrong. When asked about his thoughts on the lunch menu that was instated this year, we expected to hear  how he thinks the new menu is  ‘Healthy’ or how it was ‘The best move for the school.’  Instead he took us by surprise by saying that he didn’t agree with it. He stated, “It’s very challenging to come up with menus that fit these guidelines that the government has mandated we follow.”

According to Mr. Siciliano, when it comes down to it, crunching the numbers can get pretty tough. He proceeded to tell us that the popular Danny breakfast sandwich, the muffins from the bakery, and the delicious bread bowls have all been deleted from the menu.  He explained that “I feel bad for all those kids that can’t have what they want”. Some foods that have been added would be fruit cups, granola bars, baked or reduced chips.He explained that a homemade soup may be offered in place of the beloved bread bowls, but that is, of course, if the homemade soup can fit the state guidelines.

English Teacher Paul Serenbetz actually enjoys this year’s lunch more than last year’s. He says this year’s lunch is more nutritious. He states that “this year, it is more healthy- less flour this year, more fruit, with a greater variety of veggies.” Since Mr. Serenbetz has been eating lunch hear for the past 30 years, he’s now an expert on the school lunch. Two years ago, the Morgan Pawprint published an arcticle titled ” Tasty Reputation” on Mr. Serenbetz’s love on the café meals.

Freshman Elijha Wojie told us that his sister was a sophomore here last year, and she always talked about the lunch menu. She told him it was one of the best lunch menus she had ever seen. Now he feels very disappointed that he is here and missing out. The unfortunate part of all this is that we didn’t have much of a say in the process. Why can’t the student body as a whole decide what we can and cannot stuff our faces with at lunch time?