From Chick-fil-a to mini corn dogs, a spice rack, and the occasional sushi dish, students may agree that the lunch lines have notably stepped up their options this year. While the new foods offered are now well-known to students, the reasons behind the changes are largely unknown.

“We’ve decided to implement new foods because we want our students to have options,” student nutrition coordinator Kelsie Andrews said. “Just like restaurants, we want to provide different foods and flavors to prevent the menu from becoming boring and monotonous. The more options we have, the more likely students are to find something that fits their personal taste preferences.”

Many students enjoy some of the new foods that have been implemented.

“I really like that we have Chick Fil A now [because] it’s so good,” senior Maria Tabakis said. “It’s so cool that our school gets that privilege.”

The school wants to offer many foods from different health and diet standpoints, as well.

“We are always working to provide healthier options in our schools,” Andrews said. “We feel that high school students are old enough to make their own choices when it comes to their health and nutrition. [We have] our protein box at the deli line, which is high in protein and healthy fats and lower in carbohydrates, and our hummus combo box that is a great vegetarian option.”

“We offer fresh fruits and vegetables on every line daily, along with multiple salads throughout the week. We do our best to provide a variety of fresh and healthy options, but it is ultimately up to the student to decide which foods they will pick off the line.”

Aside from offering new foods and more option, the food service department now has a Twitter, along with other social media accounts.

“We wanted to create a Twitter so that we could open the line of communication between the students and our menu planning staff,” Andrews said. “We want to be able to easily communicate any promotions, new items, or announcements related to our food, as well as have the students be able to tweet us and tell us what they like, don’t like, and want to see in the cafeterias. We feel that Twitter is a popular and convenient way to do this. The food service department also has an Instagram, Facebook page, and Pinterest.”

As an added bonus, certain lunch lines will be serving Thanksgiving foods on Thursday this week.

“Every year we serve Thanksgiving,” lunch server Jackie Palovik said. “We serve on the home line and we’re gonna do it on two lines this year, home and southwest line, so we’ll have the turkey, stuffing, gravy, pie, sweet potatoes, rolls, and plus we’ll have three other lines with our regular foods.”