Student health is an important matter, especially to Palmer Ridge High School who prides itself on having healthy students. But are the students really as healthy as Palmer Ridge thinks?

Students and staff must understand the diet of a high school student. What they eat and when they eat it are two important questions to ask when designing a diet. The National School Lunch Program’s standards are based off of the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Knowing this, are students really following these guidelines or are they eating something. a little less healthy?

An interview of the cafeteria staff and survey of the Palmer Ridge students’ eating habits can help answer that question. The school’s resident expert on lunch, Joanne Conrad, as well the kitchen manager and former lunch lady who has been here since the school’s founding, has a few things to say about the overall student health.

According to Conrad, health at the school has been getting better and better.

“It seems like the kids do not want as much of the vegetables.” said Conrad. “This year though, it is kind of funny, I have been doubling the vegetables that I make.”

She also mentioned that the most commonly ordered food is the cheeseburger, and that the most commonly ordered drink is Peace Tea which has relatively low amount of calories.

A new trend this year has the whole cafeteria staff puzzled, as it is a very uncommon one. This year, Palmer Ridge’s new batch of students comes with a uncommon love for vegetables, one that Conrad cannot believe.

“The new group that has come in really like veggies.” said Conrad.

Additionally, she mentioned that the quality of the cafeteria food has gone up quite a bit since the school’s founding. She mentioned that the food back then had no salt or seasoning and while healthy, was remarkably unappealing to the students unlike our current variety of delicious and sometimes nutritious food.