Michelle Obama, a well-known advocate for adolescent health, has pushed for more nutritious lunches at schools across America, and this year is the first year Arlington DECA has really felt the repercussions of the new laws. Last year, DECA Espresso was able to sell up to 24 oz. coffees and chargers but the new regulations state the largest can be 12 oz because of the high sugar content. The 45 cent cookies are now half the size, and Arizona iced teas are no longer sold. Many students disagree with the new regulations even though the First Lady finds it is in their best interest they don’t eat or drink such unhealthy things.

To ensure that the new changes were being followed, Congressman Rick Larsen, an Arlington High School alumni himself, visited the school last week. He checked to make sure everything was up to par and going as planned. He oversaw that the espresso drinks had the appropriate sugar content and that the pizza, bagels, and cookies were also at standard. Regulations now state pizza must be over 50% whole wheat and the bagels can’t have too many carbs.

With these new changes, DECA has been getting a lot less business, as their average revenue has fallen about 12% each week. While that doesn’t seem like much for now, it seems that in the future DECA will need to cut back on what they’re selling in order to still make a profit. In order to compensate for the decline in sales, DECA has added several new seasonal drinks, including a pumpkin pie latte and a s’more mocha, to attract new customers. This has helped with sales, however, they are still not making the profit they have been in the past few years.

You can support DECA by purchasing lunch and drinks everyday before school and during all three lunches Tuesday-Friday.