With the help of  creative, ambitious seniors David Selverian and Matt McDonald, North Penn High School has now opened the Knights Knutrition, bringing with them a variety of fruity, nutritious shakes. The wide variety of snack options offered since January 2nd have been a success and have brought satisfaction to many athletes and other students during after school hours.

“Matt and I were inspired by the students around us. As student athletes, we often heard kids complaining about the lack of variety at the cafeteria’s food cart. Additionally, we often heard things like ‘the cart is too expensive,’ so Matt and I decided to submit a proposal to Mr. Hynes,” said David, as he explained how this idea originated.

He also, expressed that their “goal [is] to provide more diverse food options to student athletes, while keeping prices low.” This has been successfully achieved through the numerous flavors of smoothies they have to offer and their price, which is just $3.50.

“We’re still digging our way out of ’the hole’–it cost hundreds of dollars to start a snack stand–but so far we’re doing well. The stand really seems to be catching on,” explained David. Certainly, it will take some time to recover the money invested on the Knights Knutrition, but with recent sales, they will definitely be able to surpass the amount they spent to make the snack stand possible.

The Knights Knutrition has many different smoothies. However, from previous sales, they narrowed down a couple of smoothies that are favored the most by students. “We have two smoothies that are currently tied for ‘most popular.’ Both Fruity Bonanza, a mixture of a number of different citrus fruits, and Strawberry Banana are crowd favorites. My personal preference is Fruity Bonanza, but it really depends on your taste,” said David.

Nonetheless, other students have picked their own favorites. Although Jack Macauley has not tried most of the new smoothies, he said that the strawberry lemonade was definitely worth trying.

Besides the amazing taste of these smoothies, the Knights Knutrition lets you see how and where they prepare your smoothie. The table where they have the blenders is kept clean and everything seems to be organized which is an important aspect to have in a business, especially when handling a customer’s food. Also, the amount of time between buying and getting your smoothies varies, but overall, the service is fast.

According to Becca Hoch, the snack stand is “twenty times better” than the food cart the school previously had.

Another great possible feature of the Knights Knutrition that David and Matt are working on is incorporating the use of school IDs as a method of payment. This will make it easier for students, who usually do not bring money to school, to be able to purchase a snack after school.

“We will be having Knights Knutrition open the whole year. We are working out the logistics of how it will operate during the spring, as both Matt and I play lacrosse,” said David. However, he also added that, “[they] are currently looking for potential employees.” So if students want to be involved in the Knights Knutrition, they will be more than welcomed by their staff. Moreover, David expressed that, “the stand is always open to volunteers [and that] working at the stand counts as both Key Club and NHS volunteer hours.” According to David, they “truly believe that this business could transcend the years,” since they have even gotten requests already from younger students who would like to take over the stand next year.

“The Knights Knutrition snack stand has one purpose: to serve the student athletes. We wanted to provide healthy alternatives to the student athletes both before and after practice, while maintaining affordable prices. Additionally, the stand was partially inspired by the ending of the athletic ‘Booster Club’,” explained David.

Moreover, he added that, “the Booster Club used to provide funding for a lot of the sports teams, allowing them to buy jerseys, equipment, and other essential items. Now that the Booster Club has shut down, teams are struggling to raise funds. As a result, Matt and I decided that a portion of our proceeds will be going back to the Athletic Department, who will then divide the donation among the various sports teams.”

As a way of helping students by providing healthier snack alternatives and helping sports teams raise funds, the Knights Knutrition has been very successful, even if they are still in the process of growing and making themselves known to the whole student body.

“Matt and I hope to give back both nutritionally and financially to the student athletes of our school,” said David. Furthermore, they are open to any suggestions for any snacks that students would like to see sold, as well as any new smoothie flavors. “We will happily take recommendations,” said David, and lastly he added that, “everyone should come to the sports lobby to try Knights Knutrition! It really is both delicious and nutritious!”

SMOOTHIES $3.50
Strawberry-Banana
Very-Berry (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
Peach-mango
Pina Colada
Tropical (Pineapple, coconut, mango, orange)
Fruity Lemonade (Raspberries, strawberries, or mango)
Chocolate-peanut butter banana
Fruity Bonanza (Banana, raspberries, strawberries, mangoes, pineapples, orange, lemonade)

ADD A PROTEIN BLAST FOR $1
**All smoothies contain dairy

OTHER SNACKS

Snack Bars ₵75

Pretzels ₵75

PB&J $1.50

Pita and Hummus $1.50

Single Serving Yogurt $1

Gatorade $1

Water ₵50