By Holly Heller Enquirer Editor
    BREMEN — The topic of school lunches spawned a healthy discussion among teachers, parents and Barbara Wine, school nutrition specialist with the Indiana Department of Education, last Thursday afternoon.
    Teachers, parents, cafeteria employees and even a school board member arrived at the Bremen Health Council meeting armed with questions for Wine.
    Portion size and self-serve, buffet-style serving lines were questioned, as well as the carbohydrate and sugar content of food.

    First grade teachers Audra Long and Stacey Newsom expressed concern about the new “offer vs. serve” buffet-style system in which all students, including first graders, choose the items from the menu and place them on their own trays. They noted that many children take only a side item and milk.
    “How can you ensure a healthy meal?” Long asked.
    “You can’t,” Wine answered.
    She doesn’t feel that the other option — serving a full tray of food to all children — is the right way to go.
    “You’re putting the calories on their plate, but they’re not consuming it. You would not believe the plate waste,” Wine said.
    Long, speaking on behalf of all Bremen first grade teachers, continued, “At 6 and 7 years old, it’s hard for them to make those decisions.”
    Parent Cheryl Stichter, chimed in with, “When you sit down to dinner, you don’t ask them, at that age, ‘Do you want this?’ You put it on their plate.”
    On that topic, Beth Huppert, family and consumer sciences teacher at BHS, pointed out that the sneezeguard on the serving island is not low enough, given the height of the younger children who pass through the line.
    Hope Andrews, food service director for Bremen Public Schools, acknowledged that it was difficult to find a serving island that would accommodate the heights of both kindergartners and older students alike.
    Another hot topic of discussion was portion size. Several parents said their children come home hungry and that they aren’t getting enough to eat.
    “Couldn’t you charge 25 cents more and give them two more chicken nuggets?” Huppert suggested.
    Currently, students in grades 4 and above have the option of serving themselves an extra entree, which is charged to their account as they pass through the line.
    Health and P.E. Teacher Patti Davis asked, “The older ones pay more, but are they getting the same portions?”
    In fact, they are. However, next year the cafeteria plans to change from the “traditional” menu to the “enhanced” version, following different guidelines from the USDA that would allow slightly larger portion sizes for older children.
    “With the Enhanced menu, grades 7 to 12 will get bigger portions,” Wine said. “But there’s not a lot of difference. It’s a half cup of fruit or vegetables more per week.”
    Davis said, “So, that’s like one cherry.”
    Stichter brought up another school lunch concern. She said her daughter, who happens to be in the last group of the day to eat lunch, has missed out on an entree completely, on more than one occasion, because the cafeteria didn’t prepare enough of that item.
    “We are having a problem with teachers not turning in a count,” said Linda Moser, cafeteria employee.
    Barbara Gardner, cafeteria account secretary, added, “We have documented the classes not giving counts and turned that in to Mr. Tredway [K-8 principal].”
    Wine noted that running out of the main entree is against USDA policy.
    “The same food should be on the counter for the last kid that comes though as for the first kid that comes through,” Wine said.
    Students are offered an alternate entree, such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, in the event that the cafeteria runs out of the main entree.
    A different health issue was brought up by a frustrated Bob and Stephanie Richard
    The Richards said the school lunch was failing to meet the strict nutrition demands of their two diabetic sons, age 11 and 14. They feel the menu includes too many sugars and carbohydrates, which can wreak havoc on their sons’ blood sugar levels. They also asked Wine why the USDA or Indiana Department of Education doesn’t provide carbohydrate or sugar information.
    “Why don’t they recognize carbohydrates?” Bob asked.
    School Board Member Todd Stuckman brought up questions relating to portion size and to USDA reimbursement guidelines for free and reduced lunches.
    In a related matter, Stichter asked if the fee charged for one school lunch actually pays for that food and the labor involved in cooking and serving it.
    “Yes, it does,” Andrews answered.
    Superintendent Russ Mikel chimed in with a compliment about the management of the Bremen Public Schools’ cafeteria. He said he has worked at a number of different schools and has never seen a cafeteria “in the black” financially, until Bremen.
    “Somebody’s doing something right,” he said.
    More information can be found by visiting the following Web site: www.doe.state.in.us/food/schoolnutrition/welcome.