“Assorted juice and milk” has become a common phrase when viewing the school lunch menus. But what if FHS’s menu included a new option?
On Feb. 29, Randy Walker, Food Service Director for Freedom area School District, introduced a juice dispenser, similar to a soft drink beverage found at fast-food restaurants, during high school students’ lunch periods. This dispenser was simply a trial for one day and will be implemented at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year.
The brand, Grower’s Pride, a division of Florida’s Natural, will have the dispenser installed for free and feature four various fruit beverages: blue raspberry, strawberry-kiwi, tropical mango and orange juice. All beverages will be zero calories, except for the orange juice, which is 60 calories.
These beverages will be available for students to purchase during their lunch periods. The dispenser will sit on the table outside of the cafeteria beside the utensils and condiments, where it was stationed during the initial trial. Students will purchase a 12-ounce cup for 75 cents while paying for their other lunch items.
This item will not be a substitute for milk or other beverages, as it “will be a part of the alle carte items,” according to Walker.
After testing the beverages on Feb. 29, students filled out comment cards so Walker could have a general idea of how beneficial the juice dispenser would be during the next school year. Indicating nearly universal acclaim, 95 percent of students gave a positive rating.
Since Walker took over the position of Food Service Director for the 2015-2016 school year after the retirement of Dawn Fronius, many changes have arrived to the lunch lines. Just this year, new bottled beverages are beginning to be sold.
Snapple teas and juices, under the brand name Fruit2O, arrived in March for students to purchase. Snapple’s “Half ‘n Half,” a blend of iced tea and lemonade, along with Fruit2O’s sparkling beverages, have slowly been replacing the Marburger tea that can be found alongside the milk and bottled waters in lunch lines. Fruit2O flavors such as raspberry lemonade, orange mango, peach and lemon are slowly becoming a hit item in lunch lines. The beverages have been “selling out almost every day,” Becky Spieler, part of the high school cafeteria staff, said.
These beverages will be slightly more expensive than the Marburger teas, selling for $1.25. Walker will keep Marburger tea available to purchase until the time comes when Snapple is the staple for bottled beverages.