Fast food is a big part of high schoolers’ lives and many of us eat it at least once a week. With students’ favorites like MOD, Jimmy John’s, Panera Bread, Five Guys, Starbucks, Chipotle, and Qdoba all in the area, it is really no wonder. In addition to being fairly cheap, fast food is prepared quickly so students can get in and out usually in 10 minutes or less, which is convenient for us high schoolers who have 35 minutes for lunch. Most students go out to eat at least once a week, spending no more than $10 to $20 each week, but a question often brought up is whether or not having so many fast food restaurants so close to the schools area a good thing? Senior Bryan Yoon said, “Yes, if your parents aren’t home and you need food, it’s cheap and easy and you can avoid school lunch.” Freshman Kaiden Dorsett said, “It’s great because makes it really easy to find a quick bite!” Even though fast food is a great convenience to those of us in high school, junior Jessica Cheever believes that having so many restaurants so close might not be the best thing. She said, “It’s not very healthy and if you go out every day for food, it starts to take a toll on your body.”

Typically fast food is unhealthy and bad for your body, but the quality of ingredients in some fast food restaurants is actually far better than the quality of meat used in school lunches in certain areas. According to Public School Review, some school meat has been found to contain pathogens and bacteria, even being attributed to widespread stomach virus outbreaks. Our Issaquah High kitchen however, that is inspected twice a year, received perfect scores in all categories of health inspection, and even received compliments on temperatures, holding this standard for the past 12 years. Currently there are no restaurants with a failing health score in Issaquah, but Aji Sushi & Grill, Pinkabella Cupcakes, and Rajdhani Thali Restaurant all got low ratings for things ranging from improper storage temperature to not enough hand washes.

Many fast food establishments have begun to incorporate healthier options into their menus and even remove foods with trans fats, per the Center for Young Women’s Health. Having so many fast food places so close to the school means that students have healthy options and can avoid school lunches if they want to.

The expansion of fast food restaurants in Issaquah, however, could be read as just another attempt by “fast food companies trying to profit off of unhealthy products,” according to sophomore Erik Bradley. He even goes as far to say that “by getting [high schoolers] hooked on fast foods and sugars, you set them up for a lifelong addiction and unhealthiness.”

Fast food companies clearly know what they are doing by making their food cheap and easy accessible to wide audiences. While it might not be the healthiest of options, the incorporation of healthier options in the menus means that it is possible for people to eat relatively healthy at those establishments. MOD pizza has a pizza salad, where you can have a salad served on pizza crust providing a way to give a salad a pizza feeling, as well as the ability to customize your pizza however you would like too, making eating healthy as easy as you want it to be. Jimmy Johns has two healthier vegetarian sandwiches on their menu, The Veggie Club and The Veggie, as well as offering turkey as a less fatty meat on many sandwiches. Panera bread offers a large selection of salads including the Ancient Grain & Arugula with Chicken, low-calorie soups like the classic Chicken Noodle, and many sandwiches like the Mediterranean Veggie and Napa Almond Chicken Salad that have a wide variety of quality ingredients. Both Chipotle and Qdoba offer taco salads and burrito bowls so customers can cut out the carbs from their order if they want a lighter meal, but they also have lower-calorie options for the ingredients of tacos and burritos. All of these restaurants also offer a calorie count for every item on their menus, making it easy for customers to watch their calories throughout the day. Because of all these healthy options, students and people alike can maintain a healthy lifestyle despite eating at places that parts of the population might label as unhealthy.

Overall, the large grouping of fast food places near Issaquah High seems to be a good thing. Students can begin to gain independence from their parents as they start to eat away from home more often, and being able to go out with friends for lunch is always fun. By having to spend money, students are also more encouraged to get jobs so they can continue dropping money on food and other goods, which is also a good thing. Working a job teaches you things that school cannot, and getting real world experience is really great for those of us going off to college. While eating fast food might not be the best thing for you, especially if you eat it every day, as junior John Frishckorn says, “everything is good in moderation.”