TOPIC: School Lunch Menu, specifically at Cobbles Elementary School in the Penfield Central School District, Penfield, New York

BACKGROUND: A few teachers at the school formed a committee a few years ago; The Fine Dining Committee. Not sure if they had a mission statement but the general idea was to change what was being served to the students in the cafeteria by the PCSD Food Service.

PCSD Food Service: PCSD Food Service has been doing a very good job. They are above par for the USDA Guidelines that currently are in effect and have gone way above what other districts in Monroe and the surrounding counties have done by providing "healthier foods" in their Food Service Program. Whole grains, baking noit frying, baked a la catre items, etc. A few years ago the district also adopted the Choose Sensibly Snack program for snacks brought into school for classroom celebrations, class parties, etc.

SITUATION: Since 2009, the Fine Dining Committee has gotten a "Cobbles Elementary School Only Menu"and has made a lot of changes to the food choices available to Cobbles students.

ISSUE: The committee is pushing for and getting changes to the menu WITHOUT INFORMING parents PRIOR to them happening. A week does not go by when the kids come home from school saying an item was either added or missing from that days' menu. When a parent/child plan on them buying a certain item, it usually ends up with a very hungry and upset child when they get to the lunch line and find that "there's been a change" - especially when you're 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 yrs old. They're stuck and that is unacceptable.

INAPPROPRIATE COMMENTS: There have been inappropriate comments made to students about foods as well. Within the past few weeks, an announcement was made to the students during the DAILY ANNOUNCEMENTS that maple syrup would no longer be provided in teh cafeteria because "WE FOUND SOMETHING BAD FOR YOU IN IT". Many children came home that day and asked "what was bad in the syrup", since most of us have it in our refrigerators and serve it to our families with pancakes, waffles. etc. The "BAD" thing was High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), which is found in many "everyday foods"; ketchup, jelly and applesauce, to name a few.

MOST RECENTLY: French toast was on the menu Tuesday, January 4th, 2011. MAPLE SYRUP was not made available to the students; they had to eat it dry. Children were upset and didn't eat as well and this is not what a parent wants to hear when the kids get home from school, as their raiding the pantry because they've been gone for over 7 hours and they did not eat all their lunch!

MOST IMPORTANTLY: The focus at, about and around school should be ACADEMICS. When the focus shifts to what's on or not on the lunch menu .... there's a problem. SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM AT COBBLES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!

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