Did you know that the TAS Snack Bar chocolate chip muffin has 500 calories? If that shocks you, it’s time for you to start reading the nutrition labels in the snack bar… which most students don’t. Our April Blue & Gold poll revealed that 49% of TAS high school students don’t read the nutrition labels.
Some people just want to enjoy their food. Amber K. (9) says, “I don’t mind how many calories are in what I’m eating because I don’t want to worry about it. I just want to eat what I want to eat.”
But although it’s good to look beyond the calories, it’s important to remember the age-old mantra that you are what you eat. High school students need at least ¼ cup of fruits and vegetables per day, which can easily be bought from the snack bar. Instead of buying a muffin, which is full of saturated fat and empty calories, students should gravitate towards healthier options.
Evonne P. (11), president of the Health Club, says, “with these labels, we hope that students will start or continue eating healthy and understand the nutrition levels behind all the food we have in the snack bar.”
The new and improved nutrition labels were recently added by the Health Club. Created with the help of StuGov and Ms Yonkey, their bright colors and graphic design make them easier to read and more student-appealing. They also reveal helpful information about calorie and saturated fat content. The information was printed from a nutritional software on Director of the Food Services Department, Mr O’Neal’s computer.
Susie Tsao, who is a cashier at the snack bar, and has worked at TAS for 31 years, also urges students to be more aware of what they’re putting into their bodies. She says, “People would have never thought that a muffin could have so many calories! Once people start reading them they’ll realize they need to be more careful and not eat too much.”
On the bright side, yogurt and fruit cups have grown to become the most popular foods bought from the snack bar among high school students. Mr O’Neal says that “people have definitely been gravitating towards fresh and frozen fruit.” However, vegetable cups and vegetarian strombolis continue to lag behind.
So the next time you’re unsure of what to choose in the snack bar, just pause for a moment and look to the nutrition labels for an answer.