The High School cafeteria has the next big thing: churros. For a while now, students have been complaining about how cafeteria food doesn’t change, but for them, the wait is over. Since mid-December the cafeteria has been serving churros — that is, deep-fried dough coated in sugar and cinnamon. Churros, at $1 per stick, are the perfect food to go with your meal and make cafeteria lunches more colorful.

Now, you may be thinking, “Why would the cafeteria introduce churros? They’re so unhealthy!” “Actually,” says Mr. Walcott, the school lunch manager for the entire WHB district, “the churros, which are made with whole grains and cinnamon, are a very healthy dessert.” But that’s not all. In addition to the whole grains, Mr. Walcott says he “very carefully measures out” the amount of sugar and salt that he puts on the churros, to keep the calories and sodium at a minimum. “At first,” explains Mr. Walcott, “I was hesitant about introducing churros, given that they’re fried, and contain sugar. But I tweaked the recipes to make them suitable to my own health standards.”

Churros are undoubtedly one of the most popular food items to buy for school lunch. Before the churros were introduced, though, the cafeteria staff were unsure about how popular they’d be. “In the past, we’ve put out many different food items, and many of them have failed,” says Mr. Walcott, “we’ve tried new pizza doughs, new cookies and pretzels, and cinnamon buns. Most of those weren’t very popular, so naturally we were uncertain about the churros too.” However, Mr. Walcott is glad that the churros, which have numerous health benefits, are in high demand.

But they won’t last forever, says Mr. Walcott. The cafeteria will most likely have them as a seasonal food, and replace them with new desserts in the warmer months, but they’ll definitely be back next winter. The churro is a warm, cozy food, and it’s better for the winter, when seniors don’t go out to lunch because of the cold, so Mr. Walcott thinks the churros help make the cafeteria a warm, friendly place to have lunch. “I’m definitely on board with the churros,” says senior John Tocco with a smile, “As long as they carry them, I’ll be eating them.”

Churros feature prominently among muffins and other food items at the cafeteria.