During this school year, the cafeteria at Abington High has been introducing numerous new foods and options for the students and faculty.

With a quick look around the cafeteria these days, it is easy to see that the students are enjoying these new meals. Sophomore Abby Strickland likes the new breakfast foods. “It’s really nice to have the opportunity to be able to get these because I don’t have time to eat in the morning and I really enjoy having them in the morning,” she said.

When asked about the new foods being introduced, Chef Supervisor Willy Perez said, “We’ve done buffalo chicken lasagna and pulled pork sliders,” adding that “we have chicken pot pie. That was more popular than I thought.”

In addition to the foods that Perez mentioned, they also have side salads, chicken noodle soup from scratch, and protein packs that have hummus, vegetables and crackers. English Department Head Dr. Gonsalves talked about the new options that she enjoys. “My favorite is the hummus lunch,” she said. She was looking for a change from her typical salad and was seeking a healthy option. The hummus lunch includes hummus, chicken, carrots, cheese, cucumbers and wheat crackers. It is “a really affordable, healthy lunch,” Dr. Gonsalves said.

Bernie Darcy, Food Service Director for the district, said “I’m blessed here because we have the new facility,” and “we have a new way of serving on both sides: the middle school and the high school.” He also said he has “a great staff, fantastic staff, a lot of whom have school age kids themselves.” Darcy also stated that he has “a great manager of nutrition and a fantastic chef supervisor” in Mr. Perez.

When talking about how he has been creating the cafeteria menu, Darcy said that he appreciates “feedback from the students, which he [Perez] has gotten. We’ve taken that feedback that we get from the kids and formulated new meals.”

In addition to the popularity of the new meals, Darcy said he wants to continue the success of the cafeterias throughout the district. He adds, “We’re really lucky we’re growing” and that he hopes “to adapt the changes that we’re doing here with the other schools as well.”

The AHS students and faculty thanks Mr. Darcy, Mr. Perez and the cafeteria staff for the work they do every day to create these options for students.

Check out the Food Service page on the district website at https://www.abingtonps.org/central_office/food_services.php