In years past, students across all divisions used to munch on a different snack every day. Whether it was Goldfish, Gogurt or fruit snacks, the purpose of snack time was to hold students over before lunch.

Those treats have been replaced by a healthier option: fruit. In Fulton Upper School Building, wooden bins filled with bananas, apples and oranges. This is the same for other divisions, as the hand-held fruits are scattered around the Lower, Middle and Upper Schools.

Many students, however, are not satisfied with the shift. In informal polls taken by the Evergreen, only five percent of Middle and Upper School students liked the new fruit choices better than in previous years. However, in the Lower School, the results were much different – the split was pretty even.

“50 percent [of Lower School students liking the fruit] sounds about right to me,” said the Head of Preschool and Lower School, Michael Simpson.

The change arises from a combination of two factors: parent complaints and allergy concerns. According to Dean of Students Jack Oros, parents – particularly of Lower School students – were increasingly unsatisfied with their children eating processed food every day. Additionally, many of the snacks being served were produced in facilities containing nuts.

Fruits are a healthier alternative to the processed, empty carbs that were previously provided.

“Because we know that adolescents’ fruit intake is low, it does us a service to [the students] to make fruit the option available,” said Director of the High Performance Center Jessen Houston. “I’m all for it.”

However, many students do not mind the fruit itself but the lack of variety.

“I do enjoy the availability of the fruit rack,” senior Max Kettles said. “But when it is always the same three fruits, it gets boring. It was nice to have something new every day.”

Many others echo this sentiment.

“Give me another option besides fruit. I think you can have the fruit stand, but just give us another option to go along with it,” senior Dhilan Patel said. “A supplement would be nice.”

On the other hand, some students think that the fruit rack is having the opposite effect on health.

“You end up eating worse food at The Buzz because they don’t have any healthy snack options. You go in there and come out with chocolate or cookies when the daily snack would have been a healthier choice,” senior Thomas Rowley said.