At Harrisburg High School, many students and staff find themselves snacking and sipping at the school store. In fact, snacks range from chips to ice cream treats to cereal; additionally, drinks range from Sparkling Ice to diet sodas to juices. As Mr. Chris Beach, the Harrisburg Children Nutrition Director, states, common snacks include “...chips, cookies, and rice krispie treats.” Other students have also put their intake on the variety of snacks and beverages in the store. Shopping at the store almost daily, two hardworking students mention their love for the different types of coke beverages and breakfast bars because they give the students fuel for the day. They also find the store very convenient, as they simply just swipe their student ids to purchase their items.
Though the school store contains items that may resemble unhealthiness, all of the beverages and snacks must meet the nutrient standards from the United States Department of Agriculture. According to the USDA, some of these mandates include that the first ingredient must include one of the non-grain main food groups, combination foods must have at least a fourth cup of fruit or vegetable, all grain products need to contain fifty percent of whole grains, and all items cannot have any grams of trans fat. When the items meet those requirements, the primary food vender that helps the school’s needs checks each product and makes sure the store has enough capacity for each item. For example, as Mr. Beach remarks, “We can’t add too many more cold beverages as we have maxed out the electrical capacity in the store and cannot add another cooler.” One HHS learner mentioned that the store is an especially busy place to buy items in the morning because those snacks and beverages help individuals gain energy for the day ahead. All in all, a large number of HHS students are very grateful for the store’s convenience, snacks, and beverages as they make their way through a day of high school classes.