Returning students, chances are you’re already looking forward to the first Wednesday that the Cougar Den and the Senior Parent Organizations breakfast booth fills the air with the aroma of sweet tea and chicken biscuits. But before you go rushing off the Den with your money in hand, stomach rumbling in anticipation- you need to know about some changes made to your breakfast selection.

Last year the Cougar Den coffee shop had an overall revenue of $7000. Now, this number threatens to be cut in half by the loss of the two most popular products; the sweet tea and Chick-fil-a sandwiches. These changes are due to a federal decree urged by Michelle Obama that will regulate the amount of calories that can be in the foods and drinks sold to students.

“This is going to cause serious damage to our budget from now on. We’re trying to make it work, but these new criteria have cost us a major asset that I’m not sure we can get back. At least not easily.”
Strict state regulations had been met with some difficulty by the Den in the past; however these regulations mostly pertained to the salt, sugar and fat percentage, while the federal guideline mainly focuses on total calorie count.

Both the Chick-fil-a biscuits sold by the Senior Parent Organization and the sweet tea failed to meet these limiting new criteria, and are therefore no longer available for sale. Students can sweeten the tea themselves, adding the extra expense of sugar.

The White House has also changed the start of the school day to 12:01 a.m. to prevent schools from selling prohibited items “before school.”

The Cougar den has been almost completely funding Tomball publications, and last year generated an overall revenue of six to seven thousand dollars. This number threatens to drop drastically, taking away a major part of their budget. The Senior Parent Organization faces more than $8,000 in lost revenue with the loss of food items that, for many teenagers, was the sole source of their breakfast due to easy accessibility and convenience.

Despite the loss of the these items and the drop in funding, the new decree urged by Michelle Obama will do away with a number of unhealthy, high in calorie foods that would have otherwise contributed to the growing state of obesity in the United States. This decree is one of many put forth by the first lady in her efforts to improve national health.

But is she going too far? Members of congress have argued that Michelle is pushing too hard in her efforts, saying that often time’s schools cannot afford better foods and are forced to cut money from other activities to afford the foods Mrs. Obama promotes.

Also at question are the restrictions placed on American citizens. Opponents to her efforts state that she cannot force citizens to eat healthier if they do not want to. Supporters respond to such claims with the argument that most teenagers have little control of their diets, these choices being put in the hands of parents and their school districts, and cannot effectively choose to eat better. Therefore, we as citizens have a responsibility to our youth and must afford them a chance to eat more nutritious foods.

Whatever the case, the Cougar Den’s selection will now be limited to unsweetened tea and coffee. The imminent drop in revenue could result in cuts made to publication classes such as Yearbook, Photojournalism, and Newspaper.

The Senior Parent Organization, who is responsible for activities such as prom and homecoming, will also suffer cuts. Last year the booth was able to generate enough revenue to completely cover the cost of prom. With the booth gone, the SPO will have to search for other sources of funding, or be forced to cancel certain events.

Update: Chick-fil-yay?

In a daring attempt to end obesity, the Obama Administration passed a new law this past summer regulating the products schools can sell. Food can only be sold if it meets the updated nutrition standards.

Well-known throughout the school are Wednesdays’ “Chick-fil-A day,” aka the day Chick-fil-A chicken biscuits and sweet tea are available for students to purchase on Wednesday mornings. The delicious biscuits and tea regularly saved students who either forgot breakfast or just wanted some Chick-fil-A.

Alas, the Chick-fil-A goods do not meet the First Lady’s nutrition standards.

According to Chick-fil-A’s website, their chicken biscuits run at around 440 calories with 20 grams of fat. The sweet tea runs around 130 calories with 32 grams of sugars. In discussion with Chick-fil-A Tomball, they have arranged a special chicken biscuit that follows the nutrition standards, made just for THS.

The Cougar Den Coffee Shop will be serving unsweetened tea, with sugar options to replace the former Chick-fil-A sweet tea. The question is; will it (or anything) compare to the original Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit? Try it out for yourself.