There shall be no cupcakes. No chocolate cake and no carrot cake. According to New York City’s latest regulations, not even zucchini bread makes the cut.
In an effort to limit how much sugar and fat students put in their bellies at school, the Education Department has effectively banned most bake sales, the lucrative if not quite healthy fund-raising tool for generations of teams and clubs.
The change is part of a new wellness policy that also limits what can be sold in vending machines and student-run stores, which use profits to help finance activities like pep rallies and proms. The elaborate rules were outlined in a three-page memo issued at the end of June, but in the new school year, principals and parents are just beginning to, well, digest them.
“We have an undeniable problem in the city, state and the country with obesity,” said Eric Goldstein, the chief of the office of school support services.
“During the school day, we have to focus on what is healthy for the mind and the body.”
Unsurprisingly, the rationale is getting a cool reception among students. At Fiorello H. La Guardia High School on the Upper West Side, students are used to having bake sales several times a month. Now, Yardain Amron, a sophomore basketball player, laments that his team will not be able to raise money for a new scoreboard.
Another La Guardia student, Eli Salamon-Abrams, 14, said that when the soccer team held a bake sale in May, his blueberry muffins sold out in 15 minutes. He said of the ban: “I think it’s kind of pointless. I mean, why can’t we have bake sales?”
14 year old said “I mean, why can’t we have bake sales?” Look around you pal. That’s why.
14 year old said “I mean, why can’t we have bake sales?”
Um, because you are educated by State? State is Mother. State is Father. If you take money from someone, they become boss. Now quit your griping and get back to your indoctrination.
Time for bake sales to go underground, same as that dangerous Schedule I “narcotic” MJ
So have the bake sale off campus.
Are people really that dim?
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Really all that is needed to put a stop to this sort of bull feces, is some pissed off parents and kids, resulting in some politicians and school administrators covered in tar and feathers.
Im sure that would get the word out.
Home baked goods tend to be healthier than commercial products. People use sugar rather than corn syrup and a home baker doesn’t use the hundreds of ingredients that commercial bakeries use. Its generally salt, flour, water, eggs, sugar, maybe some fruit and vanilla and/or basic chocolate.
Not only that……..maybe they want to shut down bake sales so you have to go out and buy the more expensive pre-made grocery store cakes and cookies. Lots of money to be made there…..can’t have you just buying raw ingredients and making your own and trying to make a few bucks for the kids…..those profits belong to corporations!!
We have a nutrition nazi at our kids school. But, the lunch room sells icecreem. And lets kids charge it to their lunch account, unless you opt out.
So for b-days we tell the office staff to stuff it, and also offer a cupcake (good-uns too).
I think this was something that he NYC Grocery’s Association had to do with. No doubt they lose a ton of money to these “bake sales”. Malmart and Costco might even be in on it. If schools started making their own Soda Pop, you can bet Coke and Pepsi would chime in. Bake sales aren’t about kids getting too many calories. It’s about limiting grass roots America from making and selling their own food items. The corporate grocery chains don’t like the competition. So it suddenly becomes “bad for the kids”. Meanwhile, smoking and drug abuse issues are far from being addressed. But at least big gov. saved you from eating too much homemade apple pie. Not to mention (but I will) giving the profits directly to schools. Rather using taxes, thru the corporate and gov. middlemen leaches. That’s why Bake Sales work so well.
Bill Gates’ parents got Bill’s private school an expensive computer system, for the students to “learn on”, by sponsoring a “Bake Sale” for the other parent to kick in money for. Those must have been $100 cakes and pies. Because it think the computer cost $10k. And private schools don’t usually have huge enrollments. And no gov. bureaucrat showed up to say “No fair”, “Kids need more Football than they need a pricey computer”. Whereas my high school had plenty of Football, and zero computer. It wouldn’t have busted the school’s budget to get a couple Apple IIs, or even a used PDP. But Football was seen as a career move, back in 1974. And kids need to be skilled at it, before entering college. No wonder Japan and India is beat our asses at computer science. Ah, but we play better Football than they ever will. Pathetic.