In recent years, staff and administrators have been making various efforts to make students at school healthier. With regulations regarding things like whole-grain burger buns and how much of a flavored beverage schools are allowed to sell. While most students around the country were having trouble getting used to healthier lunches, the students at PFHS only “suffered” a little bit of the blow.

  “I actually started [enforcing healthier habits] years ago, so after they started making these changes, it wasn’t that hard [because] I’ve been working with the kids over the years,” said cafeteria manager Jodi Hendrickson, who has been enforcing healthier habits since before they were official rules.

   “I think it’s important that the students do eat healthy and this is one way that they will.”

 While students are having an easier time transitioning into healthier lunches, some students are having a hard time with the next new change: healthier food in vending machines. Vending machines now have to sell things like baked chips instead of regular chips, and protein bars instead of candy bars. Principal Dr. Elizabeth Noto thinks it will eventually have a positive impact on the school.

 “It’s a little bit of a shock right now,” said Noto. “I’ve not seen the same lines that I used to see at the vending machines. I can’t say that’s a bad thing; I kind of like that.”  

 However, some students, like sophomore Matthew Tiufekthiub, seem to disagree, saying that the healthier vending machines aren’t a terrible choice, but they’re also not the best choice.

 “I’m not against it, but I think that there should be a mix of healthy and unhealthy, because at the end of the day, nobody really wants a Nutragrain bar instead of a Snickers bar,” said Tiufekthiub.

 When asked if he would ever use the vending machines, Tiufekthiub said “yes,” but only as a last resort. He also thinks the healthier vending machines will have a negative impact on the school.

The last, and possibly the most impactful change, is the new policy on what clubs and organizations can sell during the school day. In the past, clubs and school organizations have been allowed to sell unhealthy food to students and teachers to benefit a cause. Now, there’s only one difference: it has to have been deemed “healthy” by the school. Changes in school policy now say that “unhealthy” food can be handed out for free, but this doesn’t help organizations; as it was a fundraising opportunity.

   Certainly there were some unhealthy things being sold. They’re a hot commodity; everyone likes them,” said Noto.

  As much as there may be benefits to this change, clubs are now having to “fight” over new fundraising ideas; not everybody can do the same thing. “People are fighting over the ‘big idea’ for fundraisers,” said Noto. When asked how long she thinks it will take for clubs to get used to these changes, Noto said she “thinks it will take a full year.”