The Legend of the BJH Ice Cream

The Legend of the BJH Ice Cream: Why It’s Gone and How Students Feel About It

If you had an older brother or sister who went to BJH before COVID, then you've probably heard about the legendary soft serve ice cream machine. Apparently, they used to have a bunch of different flavors, like pineapple, strawberry, and vanilla. According to my siblings, they would also add new flavors every day, and at the end of the week, they used to make swirls of all the leftover flavors. According to them, "it was the best ice cream to ever exist".

So what happened to it? And why don’t we have it anymore?

To find out, I reached out to Mina Choi, the head of food services for BOUSD. She explained that right after COVID hit, “all items had to be prepacked to avoid contamination,” which meant the soft-serve machine had to be shut down.

This part makes sense, but what about now? COVID restrictions are gone, yet the ice cream machine never came back. When I asked Mina again, she told me that since so many more students now eat both breakfast and lunch at school, the cafeteria is busier than ever. With staff focused on serving full meals to everyone, they “do not have the manpower or space” to also run snack sales like soft-serve ice cream.

I’ll be honest, it makes me a little sad. The thought of grabbing a cone with friends after lunch just sounds fun, like one of those small things that make the school day better. Mina even said she “does not see the ice cream returning in the near future,” which was disappointing to hear. Don’t get me wrong, I don't hate the fact that we get free breakfast and lunch. But at the same time, it feels like we lost a small tradition that made BJH special, from other schools.

Let's see what some 7th and 8th graders have to say on this matter:

“I heard it was the best part of lunch,” said Allison, an 8th grader. “It’s kind of unfair that we never got to experience it.”

“I just wanna know if it was really that good, or if my siblings were just exaggerating to make me feel bad,” said Oliver, a 7th grader.

“I probably wouldn’t have the money to get it all the time," admitted Ava, an 8th grader, “but it would’ve been cool to try it once.”

But still, RIP the BJH ice cream machine. We never had the opportunity to know you.

Writer: Zainub Amin

Editor: Alyson Gomez