The MSU Bakery hand makes all of the bagels available in the university’s cafeterias. The bakers describe the process and why it’s something they get up extra early every morning to do.
Nutritionists often refer to breakfast as “the most important meal of the day,” but the numbers show MSU students have been eating much less breakfast than they did four years ago.
From July 2006 to June 2007, students in the MSU cafeterias ate 68 tons of cereal, and since then, the number has dropped dramatically.
But cereal is not the only breakfast item students have turned away from in recent years, bagel consumption also has been on the decline.
Over the following two years, student cereal consumption decreased by four tons a year, before falling eight tons this past fiscal year, to a new total of 52 tons, Manager of Residential and Hospitality Support Services Marta Mittermaier said.
Milk consumption also has decreased over the past few years, from 215,900 gallons in 2006-07 to 191,300 gallons in 2009-10.
After taking a nutrition class, social work senior Trisha Figlan said she makes sure to eat cereal everyday but acknowledged most students aren’t as aware.
“You lose your nutrients if you don’t have breakfast in the morning,” Figlan said. “You can’t make it up later in the day.”
Because of the decreased interest in cereal, the cafeterias have gone from offering 40 different varieties to a reduced total of 25, and Mittermaier said students’ cereal tastes have changed considerably as well.
There’s been a move to healthier cereals with the cafeterias’ most popular choices being Special K Red Berries, Kashi Go Lean and Kellogg’s Low Fat Granola, replacing less healthy cereals, such as Lucky Charms, Honey Nut Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch, some of students’ favorites four years ago.
The MSU Bakery provides handmade bagels for the cafeteria, and much like cereal, they’ve seen their consumption go down considerably over the past four years.
After serving 488,000 bagels in the 2006-07 fiscal year, bagel sales have dropped to 390,100 bagels from July 2009 to June 2010, Mittermaier said.
The drop in sales hasn’t made bagel production any easier for the bakery, which relies on 12 students and one faculty baker, Rita Lyon, to produce about 310 dozen bagels a day.
“There’s a whole lot of work that goes into it,” Lyon said. “You have to keep things going right on time and on schedule to make sure you get done on time. I certainly couldn’t do what I do without the students’ help.”
Melissa Alleman, a hospitality business junior, has made bagels in the bakery for almost three years, but baking has been a part of her life since she was a child.
The atmosphere and camaraderie with her fellow student bakers is why Alleman enjoys working at the MSU Bakery so much.
“(When we’re working) we’re pretty pumped,” Alleman said. “We turn the music up pretty loud, and we get kind of crazy sometimes. I’ve baked my whole life, but it’s never been bagels until I got here.”
Bakery Manager Cindy Baswell said the students’ work is critical in filling the daily order for more than 3,700 bagels.
“(Students’) involvement is very high, and they take ownership in the project,” Baswell said. “We couldn’t do anything without the student employees. They’re like gold with us.”
Despite their effort, Figlan said students apathy for breakfast will continue to be an ongoing problem.
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