On Dec. 27, you carried a letter from Beth Rosen on behalf of the Port Washington Nutrition Committee that contained nearly 20 inches of copy in response to 1-1/4 inches of copy Dec. 13 identifying six foods served or not served in the local schools.

Ms. Rosen said she hoped to enlighten me. She did not, as I was only made more confused. That was because the statements I reported, from sources in the schools, concerning the six foods remain 100 percent accurate.

That is: cream cheese and ice cream are not served in the schools. If Ms. Rosen wants to say cream cheese and ice cream are not banned, she will continue to be wrong, as even in her letter she shows that certain cheese has been eliminated. (In its place, the children can receive yellow processed cheese for use with a bagel, which they immediately throw away into the baskets, according to a source.)

The Port Washington schools continue to serve chocolate milk, chocolate chip cookies, pizza and ketchup.

Ms. Rosen says the nutrition committee worked tirelessly ... I refer her to the old business adage that states "work smart, not hard." If ketchup and pizza can be good for the children, why is authentic cream cheese not good?

Alan Hirsch