From mystery-meat Monday to cardboard-flavored pizza, school cafeterias are notorious for offering less than stellar meals. But is this really the case?

The latest installment in Santa Fe High’s options for nourishment are vending machines.

On the bottom floor of the Academic Building, breakfast and lunch are available in two vending machines, which were installed in October. They are stocked early in the morning for breakfast, and any unsold food is removed before the first bell rings.

Senior Molly Mannila, a frequent visitor to the vending machines, states, “There are constantly people down there. One time, I stopped by a couple minutes after I got to school pretty early and it was nearly half empty, with a long line. It took a while to catch on, but it’s really popular.”

The vending machines aren’t stocked with gourmet meals, just your standard assortment of fruit, Smucker’s Uncrustables, and yogurt parfaits. However, it’s easy to grab a meal.

Because the machines are connected to your school lunch account, they don’t take cash or any other form of payment. You need to deposit money by visiting the cafeteria, or online at sfps.info using MySchoolBucks. If there is no money in your account, you will be unable to purchase from the vending machine. (Students who qualify for free meals are only allowed one meal per day.)

To use the machines, you just punch in your birth date and five-digit ID number. Then select the meal from the variety of options. Breakfast is usually $1.10, and lunch, when available, is $2.50.

Other new vending machines can be found outside of Business Center and inside Science Building. These do not rely on money in school accounts, but take the standard payment of cash, and hold a variety of healthy snack and drink options.

According to the Santa Fe Public Schools website, schools are required to follow strict dietary guidelines and federal nutrition standards in order to ensure that “meals are healthy, well-balanced and provide students all the nutrition they need to succeed at school.”

In fact, any establishment that is legally selling food on campus must first obtain permission from the principal. Then, all products have to be plugged into the “Smart Snacks Product Calculator” to check if they follow the USDA Smart Snacks In School Guidelines. Restrictions on food served include calorie counts, sugar content, sodium content and more, which can be found at this link: http://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?page=smartsnacks&sid=1712090036212161.

Moreover, if a server directly handles the food, meaning that it is not sold in its original packaging, each individual has to undergo safety and sanitation training before becoming authorized to vend. At Santa Fe High, food is sold primarily through the Commons, Alarm Clock Cafe, Jazzy Cafe, ROTC, and vending machines, but any products marketed at these sites can be booted out if the nutrition and health requirements change.