It’s all the talk around the halls: the new foods served at lunch are cramping the food supply at school.

When the food law “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act” was put into effect at the beginning of the school year, many students were forced to change their diets to comply with the nutrition standards set by the government. Schools were required to change their breakfast and lunch menus to be healthier and raise nutrition awareness.

Some may say it’s already too late for teens to change their eating habits– they’re already set in their ways. But it’s never too late to make positive, nutritious changes. Eating healthier foods now will lead to healthier eating in the future. If teens learn to eat cleaner now, they set themselves up for a lively future.

In reality, a healthier lunch menu isn’t such a bad thing. While it’s inconvenient for students to experience their lunch menu swiped from underneath their trays, it isn’t as if students are forced into eating school lunches.

Teens can still choose what they eat during school hours. If they are so against the healthier alternatives provided by the school, students can bring food from home. Even though the famous school store cookies smell is gone, it isn’t as if chocolate chip cookies are banned from school grounds. Many of students’ favorite foods are still sold at school, with modified recipes to meet government standards.

Pizza is still sold, it’s just made with whole wheat bread and no pepperoni. Cookies are made everyday, but they contain less sugar and more whole grains. Snack foods are available, but are sold in much smaller quantities.

The intention of the food act is to encourage kids to eat a healthier and more balanced diet. Teens need to move past the idea that Michelle Obama ruined everybody’s lives by taking away cookies and pizza.

This is supposed to be a good thing: ensure students aren’t fed unhealthy foods at school. An effort to reduce childhood obesity and raise nutrition awareness should be viewed positively. Wiping out those extra fats and sugars from a meal won’t cause the sky to fall. Teens will survive and the world will continue.

Understand that the act this was created for everyone’s benefit and well-being, even though it might not seem that way right now.

It comes down to this: don’t buy food in the cafeteria if the modified options are so much of a problem. Otherwise, adapt to the new menu, accept the nutritious diet and be happy about the fresher, healthier meals.