For almost a decade, the Wantagh School District had relied on the food distributor Aramark to provide food for the cafeterias. Now, as of September 3, it turned to a new food distributing partner – Whitsons School Nutrition.

Whitsons School Nutrition, according to their website, is “committed to providing wholesome, high quality menus, prepared fresh daily from locally sourced ingredients whenever available and in season.” With the flip to providing food from Whitsons comes new additions to the Wantagh school breakfast and lunch menus. Gone are student favorites such as cheesy bread and Aramark’s signature “FUEL” line of lunches featuring eclectic offerings such as chicken and waffle sandwiches, Mediterranean meatball wraps and burgers with freshly-roasted tomato topping and parmesan cheese. In their place are potential new favorites, such as Philly cheesesteaks with peppers and onions, ham and cheese bagel melts, and buffalo chicken wings according to the new high school lunch menu on the Whitsons website for Wantagh.

The offerings in the cafeteria have also lessened as of the partnership switch; as the school’s contract with Aramark expired, so did theirs with Boar’s Head. Teriyaki chicken, grilled chicken, and grilled barbecue chicken, as well as gourmet deli meats such as honey maple turkey and buffalo chicken, are off the menu. In their place are crispy barbecue chicken, and creamy Caesar dressing replacing the chipotle sauce many students loved. The bread available for deli sandwiches has also changed, with the long sub-like seeded rolls being replaced with smaller, circular rolls. Tomato and jalapeno tortillas for wraps were added as well.

Some students have expressed their vocal discontent in regards to the total rehaul of the lunch system. Jenna Loew, a junior, reported that the cafeteria no longer offers flavored creamers for coffee; only milk and half-and-half are available. However, most students don’t mind the changes.
“The only thing I’ve had from the cafeteria so far was a buffalo chicken sandwich,” claimed Jenna Loew. “It tasted pretty much the same.”

It is unknown why the school district switched their lunch supplier from Aramark to Whitsons.