The bell rings, marking the end of fourth period, and all the students can think of is food. Their growling stomachs are yearning for delicious food they know Food Day will sell. The quad is filled with various foods ranging from In-n-Out burgers to Costco churros. However, imagine looking forward to Food Day all day just to find out that the foods you wanted are not there anymore. This year, Food Day will be just that due to the Smart Snacks in Schools nutrition program that launched on July 1 as part of the Healthy Hungry-Free Kids Act of 2010. PYLUSD is now requiring its schools to follow this new program.

This new change will determine which foods and beverages can be sold at school. Three-hundred and fifty is the maximum number of calories that Food Day is able to sell from now on. This can challenge clubs trying to fundraise, and this is going to affect the clubs drastically because now the clubs have to think creatively of a food that will not go over the calorie limit and a food that will still be appealing to students. For example, imagine eating an In-n-Out burger without its signature spread and eating only one quarter of a churro. If it is not appealing, students may not want to purchase the food that that club is selling, and the club will not raise as much money as they used to.

Students at YLHS have some contrasting opinions on this new rule. Misa Okamoto (9) does not like the nutrition program that is being implemented at YLHS since she is a freshman, which means she never got to experience what Food Day was like in previous years. “I know that having foods with high calorie is unhealthy, but Food Day happens only about three times a year,” admits Misa. On the other hand, Deborah You (11) “feels somewhat bummed out about the new rule, but [she] feels blessed that the school district cares about our health and encourages us to find better and healthier options. [She is] not disappointed in this year’s Food Day options because [she] is usually on the other side of the table selling food.” Moreover, Deborah thinks that clubs will not be affected financially by this new rule since “there are a lot of healthy as well as great tasting foods out there.”