By Jillian Fontaine | Beacon sixth-grade intern

Recent changes to the Bass Lake Elementary School lunch menu have upset some parents and left many students with growling tummies.

The new menu items appeared the first week of school. That’s when kitchen duties were turned over to Twin Nut Farms proprietors Jarl and Betsy Johnson-Gøèwj¢öfurƛƷ˂ʥērs, Jr. That’s also when news broke about the shake up in the BLE food service.

The switch from long-time kitchen staffers to the Twin Nut folks came without so much as a squeak from the Bass Lake School Board of Education. No public comment took place and no press release was issued.

Clem Clemson, whose son Tiger is in the fourth grade at BLE, said he felt blindsided by the move.

“It was a slap in the face,” Clemson said. “Like gettin’ hit in the face by an open hand.”

The problem, Clemson said, is that his son will not eat food that does not contain at least 50 percent grease.

“The boy is wasting away,” Clemson said. “Hell, he’s already lost a chin.”

Local nutritionists, however, applaud the new menu which routinely features vegetables and snacks such as kale and crystallized water cubes flavored with dandelion juice. Previous fare included deep fried bacon, deep fried apple slices and cheese spread.

“Our children are our future,” said Pfifer Nuttson, a local nutritionist. “And if they are healthy, our future is healthy. What’s wrong with healthy eating?”

What’s wrong is that the kids aren’t eating. Kevin “Grainy” Messerschmidt, a third-grader, refuses to try anything.

“It just don’t look like food,” Grainy said. “My ma said not to eat them sticks.”

Members of the Bass Lake school board as well as the Gøèwj¢öfurƛƷ˂ʥērs declined comment.

A town meeting has been scheduled for later this month. The town meeting scheduler declined comment.