The popular chocolate chip cookies are no longer going to be sold in SHS or the middle school, a subject of apparent frustration for many SHS students.
Chocolate chip cookies sales ended on Jan. 24, 2024. Although there was not an official announcement, students were notified of the cookies removal by the lunch staff upon asking if the cookies were sold out. SHS senior Myiesha Alam was among the last students to buy a cookie on Jan. 24.
“It was really heartbreaking to hear that these were the last two cookies left,” Alam said. “The day before I pulled out a cookie ’cause I was feeling sad…I thought those cookies would always stay with me whenever I needed a sweet treat.”
Students have been noticing the disappearance of multiple other snack items this year, including the homemade Rice Krispy Treats and the Fruity Pebbles Rice Krispy Treats.
“I would estimate at least 150 kids have asked me about the cookies and Rice Krispy Treats,” Senior Commons supervisor Dustin Lyons said.
The Director of Food Services in Solon schools, Lynne Hutchison, sympathizes with the feelings of students.
“We hate having things taken away from us that make us happy,” Hutchison said. “I know students come up and they buy a whole load of cookies at the end of the year to use up the money on their lunch account…That is just one of those things that are just part of the high school experience.”
Because of government regulations, Hutchison says, many popular treats have had to be taken away or tweaked, like the cookies. In the future, these regulations will tighten even further.
“For the chocolate chip cookies—calories from total fat exceed 35% and calories from saturated fat are not less than 10%,” Hutchison said. “We tried to reduce the fat by reducing the butter, replacing the butter with applesauce, and cutting back on the chocolate chips. When we finally developed a recipe that met Smart Snack requirements, the product was hard and dry. Nothing worked.
“All snacks sold in the district have been Smart Snack verified. The items that didn’t ‘make the cut’ will be slowly phased out, including pudding, rice krispie treats and cake. The remaining items have met the Smart Snack standards, including the frozen yogurt and new dessert recipes.”
Hutchison thinks that sales will go down, but still hopes that the new cookies will become popular as well.
“[It’s] hard because we have to be a self-sustaining business within the district, and so it’s a very difficult thing when they say alright here are these things you can serve, it’s not everything else, but you still have to make enough money to support your staff,” Hutchison said. “That’s really difficult when a lot of our income comes from selling cookies, ya’ know, we sell 300-350 cookies a day. That’s a lot of cookies. So my hope is we can just find acceptable alternatives.”
Many students, like senior Bryson Cowan, bought multiple cookies a day.
“[I bought them] four times a day…They were delectable, they were very moist, the chocolate chips were uneven and displaced in a way that was very–just perfect,” Cowan said.
Cowan also tried the new cookies being sold and said that they tasted like Chips Ahoy cookies. Multiple other students have commented that the cookies taste like Graham Crackers.
Hutchison doesn’t think that this is the last time students at SHS will see the original chocolate chip cookies, however.
“[We will] maybe just use them [the original cookies] for special occasions…Put it on the lunch line for a day as just a treat,” Hutchison said. “I was thinking of having…the last day that the seniors are here, putting it on the line so that they can have at least one more chocolate chip cookie, and with that, we would then be able to sell extra. Ways to just incorporate it, without going against government regulations.”
Hutchison hopes that students can be understanding with the changes to the school snacks and lunches.
“We like to make you guys happy with yummy food, but at the same time we are bound by what we have to do with the government, so I hope that they can be understanding and accept and try out new flavors,” Hutchinson said. “Try them out and give us feedback, we are happy to change, happy to tweak and happy to do something new.”
