Penn-Trafford High School’s food policies are becoming more prominent this year. There are yellow signs on the cafeteria doors stating that students may not take food out of the cafeteria or Coffee Shop areas unless they receive teacher permission. 

     P-T assistant principal Amy Horvat said that the policies themselves come from the nurse’s health plan. 

     “It’s mostly because of health and safety,” she added.

     Students are not permitted to eat food from the cafeteria outside of lunch periods to eliminate the risk of sparking food allergies. Additionally, there are tables in that cafeteria designated for students with nut allergies. 

      “We are at least aware of the fact we need to disinfect… Keeping it in the same area,” Horvat stated. “If we know that [food] is going out and going all over the place that we don’t know what we need to sanitize. It’s pretty nasty if they have a reaction, so that’s the main reason, just to keep food contained.”

     Students are only allowed to go to the Coffee Shop during class if their teacher permits them, but students are mainly encouraged to go during study halls if they choose. 

     “That’s always supposed to have been the case, was that only kids in the study halls should go to the Coffee Shop… but then it kind of got a little relaxed over time,” Horvat stated. “For kids to [go to the Coffee Shop] during class time is probably not the best practice.”

Abby Dreistadt, Editor in Chief