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BRAGGS, Nov 07, 2009 (Muskogee Phoenix - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Late morning at Braggs School can be tempting as the warmth of fresh baked bread or the spice of southwestern beef and bean soup waft through the halls.

Over the years, the Braggs School cafeteria has developed a reputation for home-cooking that entices students and staff members to come back for more.

"They eat until they're full here and some come up here for seconds or thirds," said Beverly Brassfield, who has cooked and served food at Braggs School for 30 years. "And we don't charge any extra for seconds."

On Wednesday, the cafeteria workers cooked their popular southwest soup, a hearty, not-too-spicy mixture of beef, beans, corn and tomatoes.

"Kids eat this who otherwise wouldn't eat vegetables," Brassfield said. "The older ones really like it."

"It just tastes good," student Kelsey McElhaney said, citing the southwest soup as her favorite.

Third-grade teacher Anita Cameron also said the soup is one of her favorite cafeteria lunches.

"It's homemade, not out of a can," she said.

"You should come on bean day," fourth-grade teacher Terry Dillon said. "It's homemade, like Grandma makes."

Dillon said she has no idea what they put into their beans, "and I don't think they're telling."

"I know they put a little garlic in the beans," hinted cafeteria worker Donna Daily.

She said bean day is popular because of extras the cafeteria offers that day: Cabbage, okra and cobbler.

Dillon and Cameron also raved about the Thanksgiving feast the school serves the day before the holiday break.

Dillon said she likes the giblet gravy, "dressing and turkey all mixed together."

"Sage and salt and pepper," Cameron said.

"And seasoned just right," Dillon continued.

Brassfield said most of their food, especially their baked goods, are made from scratch.

The peach cobbler served on Wednesday featured frozen peaches with a crumbly crust of sugar, flour, and "a little salt and butter," cafeteria worker Leta Doolin said. "Then we just crumble it on to the peaches."

"It's oleo, really," Brassfield said. "There's too much fat in butter."

Phasing out of butter and other fatty foods has been one of the changes Brassfield has seen in her 30 years at Braggs.

"The USDA commodities program used to give us a lot of butter, but they cut down on that and we use margarine," she said. "We serve grades seven through 12 iced tea and we've had to cut down on sugar we put in it."

Doolin, who has been at Braggs for 20 years, said the federal government has regulations on how food can be served and the nutritional content of food.

The Institute of Medicine is recommending that the National School Lunch Program make school lunches healthier. In October, the IOM recommended that schools increase the amount and variety of fruits vegetables and whole grains served. The IOM also recommended setting a minimum and maximum amount of calories and increasing the focus on reducing the amount of saturated fat and sodium in food. The IOM is a nonprofit organization that gives advice to decision-makers and the public.

Brassfield said students are eating and wanting more fast food now than they had 30 years ago.

"Their parents are cooking them fast food at home, so that's what they're eating," she said.

However, she still makes sure they get good, hearty meals as well. She said some students might not get nutritious meals at home.

Doolin said Brassfield usually comes to work around 6 a.m., and she gets there around 10 minutes later. Daily comes in a little after that, she said.

"All of our bread is baked from scratch, all of our cakes, all our pies, our stromboli," she said.

The stromboli is made with a homemade bread dough with a layer of ham, cheese and Italian seasoning, topped with a layer of turkey, cheese and Italian seasoning.

"It comes out like a big loaf of bread, and they like that," Brassfield said.

The cafeteria even has attracted some people from the town, though Brassfield said the visitors are usually there to eat with their kids or grandkids. The cafeteria charges $5 for visitors, still a bargain for what they get.

"We had to raise the charge up from $2.50 last year," Brassfield said. She said veterans and their spouses can eat at the school for free on Veteran's Day by calling ahead.

Even with 100 people to feed during breakfast and 200 at lunch, the cafeteria workers still find time to visit with the kids and teachers during lunch.

"We like being up here around the kids," Brassfield said. "They will get a good meal here if they will eat it."

Reach Cathy Spaulding at 918-684-2928 or Click Here to Send Email

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Cathy Spaulding

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