The Skyline Store’s cookies have seen a period of frequent change in the past few weeks. The store switched to selling whole-grain cookies in October due to an AAPS mandate and then suddenly brought the old cookies back in “economy” size. They now sell two types of cookies in multiple flavors. The decision has been met with complaints, excitement, and surprise from many students.
The Skyline Store began selling the new cookies in October 2024, using a different supplier for the dough. “The big change from the original is that they [were] whole-grain,” says Robert Shannon, overseer of the Skyline Store and head of the BMIT magnet. “That way we aren’t giving as much unhealthy ingredients, and they comply with our ‘Smart Snack’ guidelines.”
District officials assert that the change was made because if school stores or cafeterias do not meet the USDA Smart Snack Standards, the district could be fined. “We were trying to establish … a joint plan with the school stores so that we were compliant with the USDA requirements,” says Liz Nowland-Margolis, Executive Director of School Safety and District Operations for Ann Arbor Public Schools, “and when the [inspection] occurs, we will not be fined for auditing [the Skystore].”
The previous cookies didn’t meet the USDA “Smart Snack Standard,” which the district could have been fined for.
The Michigan Department of Education requires all schools in the NSLP (National School Lunch Program) to follow the Smart Snacks in Schools rules. “The sugar content in the original cookies was not compliant with the guidelines,” Shannon explains. “The recipe was changed to comply, which was mandated by Ann Arbor Public Schools.”
The district has been working with Chartwells for around seven years to supply their “Smart Snack Standard” food and beverages. “The USDA and Michigan Department of Education require that only smart snacks are in the school,” says Nowland-Margolis. “It’s based on each product and how much sugar, fat, salt, and sodium they have in the product.”
However, on November 11th, 2024, students in the cafeteria noticed that the original cookies had reappeared..
“We realized that there is another option,” Shannon says. “Otis Spunkmeyer – the original cookie supplier – has what’s called the ‘economy’ cookie, which complies with our guidelines… We went back to it because of the flavor… It’s the original cookie recipe, just a smaller size.”
Students now have multiple options. “We also thought that it would be important to still offer the whole-grain cookies to keep a healthier option,” Shannon says. “So we have chocolate chip, double chocolate, oatmeal raisin, and M&M cookies in both economy and whole-grain.”
While profit isn’t the main point of the Skyline store, it’s notable that the period of only whole-grain cookies impacted sales significantly. “We had been selling probably $200-$240 worth a day with the original recipe,” Shannon says. “But with the whole-grain [alone] we were under $100 per day between the two lunches.”
Opinions vary on the whole-grain recipe, but the ‘economy’ cookie seems to be inspiring some enthusiasm among students and Skyline store staff. “I kind of like [the whole-grain], ‘cause I’ve always been more of a healthy person,” says Taylor Patterson (‘25), student manager of the Skyline store. “But I don’t really mind the cookies either way – I’ve had the old ones since freshman year.”
