Brightly colored signs in the cafeteria advertise choices of cuisine ranging from veggie wraps to hot ham and cheese sandwiches available at the snack bar. These new meals are part of an initiative to diversify student lunches, according to production manager of Park nutrition Tami Borgen.

“I want to do something different,” Borgen said. “It’s all about letting the kids have more choices.”

In addition to the items already added, Borgen said during the month of December the snack bar will feature a different item each day of the week. These featured items include soup and crackers on Mondays, pan pizzas on Tuesdays, chili on Wednesdays, and baked potatoes on Thursdays. The snack bar will continue to offer Leeann Chin on Fridays.

According to Borgen, students have responded positively to the new options.

“They’ve been very popular. That’s why we’re going to keep offering these new foods,” she said.

Junior Aaron Goodman said he has enjoyed having more options for a snack after lunch.

“I think it’s a good idea. A lot of people like that stuff, and I personally would buy it,” he said.

Goodman said he thinks the snack bar may eventually have enough options for students to eat there instead of purchasing a school lunch.

“If they offer more options it could definitely be popular. A lot of people just buy food from the snack bar already, so it kind of it replacing school lunch for some people,” Goodman said.

However, not all new meals have been received with equal fervor. Borgen said the snack bar offered burrito bowls in the past, but they were not popular among students.

“The burrito bowls did not go over well. That’s why we stopped offering them. It’s too expensive to throw away all of the leftovers every time,” Borgen said.

Goodman said he believes in general people will appreciate these food options.

“They’re going to be popular with students,” he said. “Who doesn’t love hot chicken soup?”