Between classes, it’s not uncommon to see students in the Internet Cafe munching on a bag of chips or sipping a fizzing soda. And, until recently, those snacks were likely bought at the Hop Shop, a student-run store that has been selling food and donating the proceeds since May 2018.
But now, the Hop Shop co-heads are considering replacing those ultra-processed food items with healthier options, a shift they said is an attempt to align more with the Hop Shop’s mission statement.
According to the mission statement, one of the main goals of the Shop is “to improve the well-being and happiness of students and staff at Georgetown Day School by selling popular products and healthy food.”
“Our initial Hop Shop mission statement was that we would provide healthy food for our community,” sophomore and Hop Shop co-head Elliot Etter said.
But the current Hop Shop inventory consists mostly of unhealthy food or drinks; one of the Shop’s most popular items is Celsius, an energy drink that contains 200 mg of caffeine—the equivalent of just over two cups of coffee. “Celsius is probably the first thing that we run out of after a restock,” sophomore and Hop Shop employee Brendon Chu said. “The moment we get a restock, Celsius would probably run out within a week or two.”
One of the main reasons Celsius is so popular among students is its high level of caffeine. “We’ve had most of our business during those majors weeks and crunch-time weeks like before the end of the semester, before the end of the quarter and right before progress reports came out,” junior and co-head Leela Rustgi said.
The Hop Shop co-heads are currently in discussions with Assistant Principal for School Life Quinn Killy about how to best support students’ health. “I’ve encouraged [the Hop Shop co-heads] to have discussions about whether they think what they are selling is healthy and affordable,” Killy said.
Rustgi said that after conversations with Killy and other faculty members, the co-heads are deciding whether to replace Celsius with other healthier alternatives that aren’t already in the Internet Cafe vending machines. One such possible alternative is Poppis, a carbonated drink that contains prebiotics—and depending on the variety, up to 40 mg of caffeine.
The co-heads said they are considering two options for the Hop Shop’s future inventory: either they will continue to sell unhealthy food and edit the mission statement, or they will start selling healthier snacks.
“If we try to push for Celsius, we might have to change the mission statement—that might take a little longer,” Rustgi said.
The co-heads have considered selling fresh food, much like the recently installed Farmer’s Fridge. But sophomore Naomi Berger, a Hop Shop employee, said because the Shop doesn’t have enough storage space, the food would most likely go rotten.
“It’s kinda a fine line,” Etter said, “because it’s good to be health-conscious, but at the same time, it’s one—are they perishable—and two—are kids gonna want to buy them?”
Until a plan of action is decided upon, the co-heads have decided not to restock the Shop. “I mean, regardless of what we do, this is kind of a turning point in the Hop Shop,” Etter said. “So, in this phase where we’re meeting with Quinn, we can’t really restock until we know exactly what we want to sell.”
“I just want to continue to be a place that serves as a community space where people can come and feel comfortable and get food,” sophomore Helena Seiken said.
Jacob Blane and Alex Hughes contributed reporting,