Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and Cereal Club’s mission is to spread that message among all students at Winnetka.

It seems like everyone at New Trier has heard about Cereal Club. Maybe they’ve heard about it on a morning announcement, seen a flyer for it, or possibly even seen members on a Thursday morning in the Scrounge where they meet.

There’s no doubt that this is one of this school’s more unique clubs.

“Cereal Club is one of those clubs that feels like it’s been around forever,” Club President Senior Sheri Kuzatsky said. According to a New Trier board report, Cereal Club has been around since fall 2002 and their activity has remained largely unchanged since its inception.

Cereal Club is exactly what it sounds like. Winnetka campus students meet up in the Scrounge on Thursday mornings and eat cereal.

“It’s literally just us hanging out and eating cereal in the mornings,” Senior Laine Stern said.

According to Kuzatsky and Stern, the only reason for this club is to be a place for students to talk, eat cereal, and relax in a stress-free environment.

Students who attend really enjoy the its stark departure from the busy and bustling atmosphere that New Trier is during the rest of the school day.

“Cereal Club has been a huge part of my life since junior year,” Kuzatsky said. “I’ve made a lot of really close friends there, and I really enjoy it.”

The only formal board that Cereal Club has is Senior Connor Cook, who serves as the clubs vice president, and Kuzatsky who serves as the president. Beyond them, Stern, Senior Izzy Wilson and other dedicated members help facilitate.

Cereal Club generally has between ten and 25 members for any given meeting. The same people attend most meetings.

Most members find the club by hearing about it from a friend, but some members just happened to be in the scrounge during a meeting and joined from there.

“I stumbled on Cereal Club one morning while I was in the Scrounge,” Cook said, “I’ve met a lot of really cool people all from different grades through cereal club, and we’re all good friends.”

According to Kuzatsky and Cook, they have become so invested in the club because of all of the close relationships they’ve created there. Cook even mentioned that the club has a secret handshake that you can only learn by going to a meeting.

“The most unique cereal anyone has ever brought in were pumpkin Cheerios, Cap’n Crunch Donuts [Sprinkled Donut Crunch] or some of those off brand cereals with really hilarious names like Marshmallow Mateys,” Kuzatsky said. According to Kuzatsky, no members have brought in international cereals yet this year, but the club has eaten German and German cereals before.

In the future, Kuzatsky plans to expand the operation beyond eating cereal on Thursday mornings

She plans to start a cereal drive, where members would bring in boxes to donate to people in need, and wants to go to a pottery store with the club and make custom bowls for meetings as a bonding experience.

Cereal club may not be the most complex or well-known club, but after 13 years, seems here to stay. The members have a great time in its relaxed environment and the club has no stress, strain, or burden on the school or its budget.

“We all really love Cereal Club,” Kuzatsky said, “There’s no pressure, no commitment, and you don’t have to bring anything unless you want to bring in cereal. All you have to do is come, eat cereal, make good conversation, and just have a good time.”