Eloise True ‘08 takes advantage of the salad bar, which now features the special salad of the day and assorted new toppings. PHOTO/Nina Tarnawsky ‘08

Over the past few years, the school has made a concerted effort to create a healthier eating environment. This effort has included both major and minor changes to the dining hall menu, in addition to the development of a more diverse set of foods in the school store and vending machines located around campus.

The most extreme and noticeable example has been the elimination of soda in the Dining Hall starting for the 2004-2005 school year. Yet, as Food Services Director Alicia Mysiorski explained, this also served as a catalyst for a lot of other new initiatives. “We’ve changed our focus over the past couple of years when we switched from serving soda…That really started the ball rolling.”

A diversified salad bar is included in the dining services attempt to direct students to more healthy food. In addition to seventeen standard toppings of fresh vegetables offered daily, the salad bar now hosts fresh fruit, granola, and sunflowers. A “Specialty Salad of the Day” has also been introduced. Ms. Mysiorski stated that the purpose of this is to “attract people to the salad bar and say ‘hey, here’s what’s available and this is a combination you can make to make it more interesting or more fun.’”

Due to community lunches, the grill, previously open every school day, is now open only three days during the school week. One of these days is always devoted to a salad, for “we are trying to push healthier things,” as Mysiorski says.

The latest shift in the dining hall menu involves the French fries. The French fries served now have zero trans fat, and the oil used to cook them also contains zero trans fat. Yet, “we haven’t gotten any complaints on the taste.”

The Dining Services also attempts to inform students on proper nutrition. Every month a nutritional table is hosted. These nutritional tables exist to help students gain a better knowledge of what to eat. For example, during the exam periods, the table often focuses on what foods are best to feed one’s brain. Table tents with different topics are also placed on the dining hall tables to remind students that “you have all of these options, but this is probably a better choice.”

Student opinion plays a large role in dictating what the dining hall serves. An example of this is the return of clam strips, which were temporarily removed from the menu but were eventually brought back after significant student protest.

Overall, Ms. Mysiorski believes that “[she] does a pretty good job of putting the balance out there. Nobody dictates what you’re going to put on your tray, but I think there is definitely a balance of healthy options.”

Yet, certain students are still unhappy with the options presented in the dining hall. Marla Spivack ‘08 lamented that a Choate student can maintain pretty healthy eating habits “if you don’t mind making the exact same thing every day. There’s always salad and maybe cereal with milk and fruit. Other than that all the food that they cook looks not that healthy.”

Carolyn Siegel ‘07 suggested that at dinner “a not red-meat meat option” would be good as an alternative source of protein. In order to provide herself more healthy food options, she keeps apples, grapes, mushrooms, soup, and tuna in her room. She also has milk and “lots of soda.”

Food services outside of the dining have attempted to accommodate those students looking to eat more healthily. According to Director of the John Josephs Activity Center Mr. James Yanelli, the food found in the vending machines is “driven by student taste.” Therefore, granola bars and other similar bars have been stocked in the vending machines. Mr. Yanelli conceded that “unfortunately, vending machines by their nature are somewhat unhealthy.”

Mr. Yanelli explained that the school did an experiment at the Tuck Shop with making yogurt available in the Tuck Shop but it was a “dismal failure.” He continued that “we have tried diligently, Aramark has, to offer healthy alternatives [at the Tuck Shop]…but they don’t sell as much as burgers and fries do.” The school is trying to provide what the students want, and it does not make sense to carry items that do not sell enough.

Manager of the School Store Eileen Flannery states, “We haven’t had any demands from anyone specifically to provide more healthy alternatives, but we are aware that there has been a bigger focus on eating healthier lately.” Due to this new focus the School Store carries different assortments of Powerbars, Cliff Bars, Odwalla Bars, and Trail Mix. The School Store also sells beverages such as water, fitness water (Propel, Powerade), in addition to all natural Nantucket Nectars and Odwalla drinks.

Ms. Mysiorski, Mr. Yanelli, and Mrs. Flannery all made it clear that students wishing for different alternatives need simply to make a request.

Health Center Director Dr. Ben Gardner feels that a problem with students not eating healthily is not due to a lack of food diversity, but rather the presence of more fatty food. “When you offer the less nutritious taste-good foods they want to have fast foods like chicken nuggets…that’s what they eat.” He continued, “I am not suggesting that we get rid of things such as the fried clams and chicken nuggets, but most of issues in nutrition are through perphaps not good choices.”