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Posted: 4:38 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012
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BROOKVILLE, Pa. —
#BrownBagginIt is a phrase that has hit social media websites and its spreading quickly.
The trend started at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school, particularly at a high school in Pittsburgh.
Our sister station WPXI reported students at Plum Borough School District were unhappy with the changes.
The new federal guidelines now have high school students across the country unhappy about cafeteria lunches.
Under the new federal guidelines through the USDA cafeteria lunches must have the following: a meat/ meat alternate, grains/breads/ fruits, vegetables and milk.
Take a drive an hour and a half northeast from Plum School District you will find Brookville Area School District.
Students at Brookville Area High School are also voicing their opinions about the new federal guidelines.
A Facebook page was created by students to voice their opinions about the school lunches. The page is only accessible if you are invited.
One student told 6 News that there were over 400 kids that have joined the page.
Brookville Area High School only has just over 700 students.
Along with taking things to Facebook and using the phrase "#BrownBagginIt" on Twitter, there were also rumors that kids were being charged for napkins, utensils and even condiments like ketchup.
6 News sat down with school officials Friday morning to find out what is really going on.
Sandra Craft, superintendent at Brookville Area School District said that many high school students are upset about the new federal guidelines.
She said that many of them have complained about the serving sizes not being enough, especially for athletes.
Another concern is that the cost of lunch has increased to $2.15. Last year, lunch was $2.05.
Craft said students feel like they are having to pay more for less food than they got last school year.
When 6 News asked whether or not they had been charging for napkins and utensils, Craft said "no."
She did elaborate saying that someone placed an unauthorized sign in the cafeteria this week that may have stated such a message to students.
Craft said that the school district is handling the matter, and wants parents to know the sign was not authorized by the school district.
In an effort to better explain why the kids are upset about the lunches, food services director Becky Kammerdeiner showed 6 News an actual school lunch.
Kammerdeiner said some kids have complained about the quality of the food but she, along with her staff are trying to make changes if the new guidelines allow it.
"We have to find a balance in providing them what they like, but at the same time following the guidelines and ensuring that were following the federal governments guidelines," she said.
While working on this story, kids arrived at lunch around 12:10 p.m.
Under the request of the superintendent 6 News was not allowed to record students faces without their parents permission.
Many of the kids did have packed lunches, some had signs that said "Power to the Packers, #BrownBagginIt," and at one point one student handed out spoons - jokingly in response to the fact that kids were told they had to pay for spoons earlier in the week. Which according to school officials, they did not.
"We as students as a whole definitely feel like there are improvements that can be made. We don't particularly like the new policies that the government has implemented," said high school senior Owen Clinger.
Both Craft and Kammerdeiner said that they are not upset that the students are protesting school lunches.
They said that they are actually proud the kids are doing it in a respectful way that can provide a learning experience.
So what happens next? School officials are encouraging students to write to local leaders and lawmakers and hopefully maybe something can be changed.
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