Come lunch time, Staples High School students can be seen charging down the hallway with solely one purpose: to fill their growling stomachs with a plethora of nutritious food options found in the Staples cafeteria.

Starting up again this year, students and faculty can sate their hunger with a healthier option provided by the new permanent salad bar. The new bar offers two kinds of lettuces, two protein options and a variety of vegetables, all thanks to a relaxation of covid restrictions in the cafeteria.  

Students seem to have had positive experiences with this new lunch option. The ability to make one’s own meal and choose the amount and type of toppings is unlike almost any other option in the Staples cafeteria.“The salad bar allows me to choose healthier options for lunch,” Tessa Cassell ’24 said. “I enjoy the variety of vegetables and toppings that Staples has offered.”

For student athletes, the salad bar has provided an opportunity to make healthy choices while also fueling up for an upcoming game or practice. Franca Strandell ’23, Staples Girls’ soccer player, has found this lunch choice to be a perfect balance. 

“I love to get a salad with lots of toppings before a game because it keeps me energized but not sluggish,” Strandell said.

Prior to this school year, the salad bar had been shut down and replaced by a more covid-friendly option: pre-packaged salads.

“Now that we are allowed to go back to some of our pre-covid standards, we wanted to bring back a regular build-your-own salad bar,” chef and dining director Ben Leahey explained.

Salad enthusiasts can also look forward to the coming fall and winter months, as options for toppings will vary based on what foods are in season.

“There’ll be sweet potato and butternut squash as the year goes on, and we’ll keep refreshing it every few weeks or so,” Leahy said. “Both faculty and students have been really excited about it. ”