New coffee bar gives Fitch students their daily pick-me-up
AUSTINTOWN
Austintown Fitch High School students finally got to savor a cup of their favorite coffee at The Common Grounds, the school’s new coffee bar.
Tascin Brooks, food service director, said the idea for The Common Grounds stemmed from a busy line at Dunkin Donuts she waited in two years ago.
“The line was just so long, and sometimes the kids didn’t have enough time to get their coffee before school,” Brooks said. “I thought, ‘Why can’t we bring the coffee to them here?’”
Brooks said she attended a food show and reached out to others on how to get her school coffee.
Because of several healthy food mandates from the state, Brooks said sometimes she struggles to keep students happy with the menu, but she tries her best.
“We are always trying to reinvent ourselves and keep up with what they like and what’s new and exciting. For the high-school level the USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] has said, ‘You can give them caffeine again.’ So, for two years I have been trying to figure out how to do 60 calories per 12 ounce,” which is a state standard.
Students aren’t getting as much caffeine as everyone thinks they are, however.
Read more about this new hotspot in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.