The vegetarians, the food-allergy sufferers, the picky eaters, and of course, my chorus teacher (shoutout Mr. VanderWoude): What did we all have in common? Our shared space in the Needham High School cafeteria: the salad bar.
Every lunch period during the 2021-2022 school year, I would spot the same friendly faces filling their lunch trays with leafy greens, nutritious tofu, and colorful vegetables. Some of them relied on the same salad every day, a plate of comfort food amongst the chaos of the cafeteria. Others were like me and had a new salad each season, brimming with excitement whenever a new in-season topping appeared. Still others preferred to mix up their salad each day, interrupting an endless history class with an adventurous second lunch. Regardless of their varying culinary practices, the salad bar was a comforting oasis for its faithful customers.
Maybe it was small and had little foot traffic compared to the pizza station, but when it was tragically removed during the 2022-2023 school year, NHS students noticed. Replacing the salad bar, the freedom to mix-and-match toppings, and the opportunities for students with dietary restrictions to truly enjoy lunch, were boxes of pre-packaged salads (with a few options for toppings on the side).
Needham High’s wisest vegetarian student, Julia Rowe, just happens to be one of my good friends, and we have complained countless times about how frustrating the removal of the salad bar is. “Half the time the salads aren’t even vegetarian and now that they got rid of pizza every day, it’s really hard,“ she laments.
Anika Ray of the class of 2025 agrees. “A big issue that I’ve been hearing in general is that there aren’t enough vegetarian options in the caf, and people can’t just eat the same thing every day.” Yes, there is pizza every other day, and many meals are available without meat, but it sounds like vegetarians had far more freedom when they could DIY their salads and ensure that the contents fit their moral, religious, or dietary practices. Julia did add that “it’s nice that sometimes they have vegan options of the meat things, though.” I agree with her, and in no way intend to discredit our incredible cafeteria workers who do an amazing job feeding our entire community every day.
Vegetarians aren’t the only ones missing the salad bar, however. For students like myself with life-threatening food allergies, it was far easier and safer for me to prepare my own salad, whose ingredients I could control. Of course, since I am allergic to nuts, a majority of the food in the cafeteria is free from my allergens, but for students like junior Maddie Webb, who is lactose intolerant, this isn’t the case. “[All of the salads] have cheese, so now I can’t buy lunch anymore,” she shares. “It makes me feel sad.” I don’t know about you, reader, but I personally do not want Maddie Webb to be sad. It seems as though the salad bar was a crucial part of her happiness, as it was for so many of us in that community of salad bar faithfuls back in 2022.
There are many pressing issues facing our community, and the lack of a salad bar may not be the most detrimental one. But the next time you pass through the cafeteria in search of a healthy and nutritious lunch, remember the salad bar that once would have been there for you to explore. And if you’re like me, still missing your daily salads, just know that you’re not alone. Support each other and continue to advocate for the return of the salad bar, and we will see the day where we can once again gather to create lunches together.