The Nicholas Athletic Center (NAC) Café once hosted third-party vendors who sold an abundance of pizza, wraps, and sweet treats, providing students with an opportunity to refuel prior to their athletic commitments. During the COVID pandemic, the NAC pivoted to supplying bins of plentiful snacks, often consisting of lemon cookies and Cheez-Its. In recent years, however, the NAC has stopped serving food entirely, meaning some students head into their afternoon commitments with inadequate nourishment.
Director of Athletics Jaye Locke, along with her colleagues, has seen the effects of under-fueling on student athletes first-hand, she said. In an effort to address this issue, Upper School Director Jessica Keimowitz and Coach Locke held a drop-in meeting on Sept. 23 during Community Activity Block (CAB) to gather student opinions about food options at the school. Initially, the meeting was set to tackle the theme of the snack bins located in the Commons, but the conversation ultimately went in a different direction, Coach Locke said.
“It was a little bit about the snacks, but it was really more about a potential NAC Café and seeing what opportunities we might be able to provide,” she said. “There was definitely an interest in doing more research and looking to see what we could potentially do.”
Despite excitement about the potential revival of the NAC Café, Coach Locke acknowledged that logistics would play a major role.
“There’s a lot of challenges in and around staffing and timing. It’s not an easy thing. We’re not like these boarding schools that have amazing cafés.”
Despite these challenges, Coach Locke believes that increased food options could lead to gradual improvements at the school. She hopes that kids will eventually rely on the school’s own services rather than third-party companies, vending machines, or delivery services, she said.
“Maybe instead of finding a third-party, and now that we have more staffing, could we actually staff it? What else could we offer that maybe is more reasonable than the vending machines? People order a lot, which is expensive, and maybe we could help cut back on that a little bit.”
Coach Locke acknowledged her aspirations would require a generous amount of time and dedication. She is willing to wait, though, as it could lead to a better experience for students.
“I like to think of the NAC as a hub of activity and a joyful place for people to come, and food adds joy,” she said. “Maybe more people would be happy to hang in the NAC. It would just add more to a community. Food always does. Relationships and connections are often formed around food.”
For now, snack bins in the Commons, which are put out after the last block, remain the sole source of complementary after-school nourishment for students. You-Yan Wang ’26 has not used the school’s snack services since last school year. He said that he remembers being relatively satisfied.
“I actually really like the bins they put out after school. I think those have been helpful sometimes when I’m hungry and didn’t eat enough lunch, and I have to run to practice.”
You-Yan said the snacks typically disappear within a matter of minutes.
“From what I remember, they usually run out pretty fast. If you got held an extra five minutes in class, they’d be gone.”
Nava Galperin ’28 prioritizes snack acquisition and immediately heads for the bins after her last class.
“I’m pretty quick, but I have some friends who can’t get there, especially when a class runs late.”
Elizabeth Velander ’26 has faced the same issue: She often struggles to refuel before an afternoon of demanding physical activity, she said.
“I feel like it’s a lot of quick carbs, and they also run out really fast,” she said. “Sometimes, I’ll come down a little bit late before sports, and every single food option is gone, and I’m left with nothing before practice.”
Maggie Pond ’25 is also not a fan of the snack options, arguing that the variety is rather weak. She would like to see a difference in the types of offerings, she said.
“A lot of times, they won’t have enough food or options,” she said. “I would like to see this change. Maybe a couple more options, such as some sort of protein bar or anything better than SunChips. And maybe slightly more quantity-wise because some people are known to often take more than one.”
The lack of quantity and variety also infringes upon Maggie’s skills on the field, she said.
“It definitely affects my athletic performance,” she said. “A lot of the time, I am really hungry after a lot of hours of working hard, and I then have to go push my body. As an athlete, you need food in between there to fuel your body.”
