<p>our mayor and DOE have come up with the bright idea of banning bake sales in the public schools here to keep kids from getting fat. OTH the amount of gym time and recess is constantly being cut. some schools, at all levels, dont even have gyms. personally i think this is the stupidest thing ever. and leave aside the fact that these are big fundraisers, especially at schools with poorer populations. i heard that this is the rule in california too, however. anyone there know how its working out if thats the case?is it a rule anywhere else? is it a good idea at all?</p>
<p>Welcome to the Nanny State. This is happening all over the United States so you are not alone. It’s usually when the Mayor wants to garner good press and get their name in the paper. The DOE just jumps on the bandwagon. Is your Mayor supported by the NEA?</p>
<p>Many teachers still believe that sugar is the root of all behavioral issues and do not want it in the schools. Bake sales are a source of sugar, therefore bake sales are bad. </p>
<p>If vending machines are at the school take a look at the choices. If candy or non diet soft drinks are sold you have your answer. Does the student store sell candy bars?</p>
<p>In these cases the vending machines companies and the student store view bake sales as competition and try to get them shut down.</p>
<p>The kids just told me that this year the pop/soda machines are now bottled water, flavored mineral water type machines. The fryers are gone in the cafeteria so french fries are now baked and there is no fried food (mozarella sticks, etc.) during the lunches. No candy bars, but they still have cookies in the cafeteria I hear. I think it’s all just fine. Nobody needs that kind of “stuff.” Unless I’m missing something I don’t think we’ve had bake sales in a decade, but the concern was peanut allergies prompting the “ban”, not chubby kids.</p>
<p>No bake sales at my private school either. :(</p>
<p>I saw a neat idea recently…instead of selling brownies & cookies, they had fruit kabobs! Fruit skewered on a stick. Healthy & fun to eat. The only downside is they don’t keep as well as baked goods & have to be made/assembled sort of at the last minute.</p>
<p>I am so tired of baking food, then going to school and paying to buy someone else’s baked good. I wish our schools would ban them…</p>
<p>I thought you were going to say they banned them because of peanut/tree nut allergies. </p>
<p>I had occasion to take a Food Safety class a couple of years ago. Honestly, if you take one of those classes you’ll never buy food that wasn’t prepared in a kitchen that undergoes regular health inspections again. Actually you may never eat in a restaurant again!</p>
<p>I’ve seen studies on this stuff - as much as it makes sense to ban unhealthy foods in school, it seems the real culprit is what kids eat outside of school. In poor areas with high obesity rates, the number of fast-food and 24/7 stores selling junk within a couple of blocks of schools was huge, and the kids were spending large sums of money daily on junk food after school.</p>
<p>BigAppleDaddy, you’re right about the hypocrisy of banning “junk” food while cutting recess and phys ed. There are two sides to the “calories in : calories burned” equation.</p>
<p>There were some limits put on this in our school too - too many bake sales, or donut sales, or whatever sales going on. One thing they did let us do for fundraising for a bit was to have like a Walking Taco sale at lunch - we had to do it in the concession stand outside of the cafeteria but it was a big hit. We made lots of $$$ doing that a couple of times. But then they decided not to allow stuff like that either cause it was cutting into the cafeteria profit. :(</p>
<p>It’s the same $10 or so going from person to person. I would rather just donate my money than bake myself and then go and buy someone else’s baked goods. </p>
<p>It has nothing whatsoever to do with childhood obesity…it has everything to do with not wanting to do it.</p>
<p>Teacher here…our teachers find it awful that kids can no longer have cupcakes for birthdays in the schools without also bringing a “healthy alternative” too. Most schools have totally eliminated these types of snacks. No candy on Halloween or Valentines day either. I can tell you that not every teacher agrees that sweets should be banned from the schools. Why does every issue in the schools get blamed on the NEA?</p>
<p>Probably just a backdoor way of banning affirmative action bake sales.</p>
<p>Roughly 10 years ago Hepatitis A was spreading through my city, which prompted a ban on all homemade foods by all schools. Although I haven’t heard of a case of Hepatitis A in our city in many years, the ban has never been lifted.</p>
<p>I am fine with banning homemade foods. Between Hep A, peanut allergies and just not trusting how some people prepare food, I think in this day and age its somewhat foolish to take any risk on homemade foods of any kind.</p>
<p>I think the food safety issue is important.</p>
<p>I thought the thread was going to be about the H1N1 threat. </p>
<p>When we lived in Minnesota, homemade baked goods were not allowed in my children’s schools. Then we moved to Texas, where I the teacher said, “Baked good are always appreciated on kids’ birthdays. Of course, everyone prefers the homemade type.”</p>
<p>Eating randomly-made baked goods just doesn’t appeal to me anymore.</p>
<p>Several years ago, our HS instituted the “Eventless Fund Raising Event.” People just donated money. It was easier than having people donate hours and hours of time to organize the silent auctions, etc., having people pay for tickets to attend the event, and so forth.</p>
<p>I doubt the local businesses who might have benefited were happy, but hey – it sure was easier.</p>
<p>Our h.s stopped having big sales of any kind too. The PTA decided parents would rather donate money than have to push,pull drag kids to sell stuff or feel obligated to buy stuff you don’t want/need. Who really needs a whole case of Florida oranges? </p>
<p>Now they just ask for donations of any amt. throughout the sch. yr.</p>
<p>As for baked goods…I work in a childcare center. Absolutely no home baked goods are allowed nor any packaged good that have been previously opened.</p>
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<p>This is what S’s middle school did this year and it’s been very successful. As a PTA parent who has been involved with the work that went on to do these sales in prior years not to mention having my own kids who HATE selling things, I am ecstatic.</p>
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<p>I was never wild about my kids eating home baked goods for fear of illness, but I let my kids be kids and enjoy it anyway. They survived and had their childhood fun. </p>
<p>As far as peanut allergies, I have to say that lots of parents in our district will not follow the rules of “no peanut products allowed in lunches”. Since our schools do not refrigerate lunches brought from home, many parents will not send in foods that might not be healthy to have sitting around unrefrigerated (I know one can include frozen drinks and frozen blocks to keep food cold). They send in P&J sandwiches anyway!!! Nothing seems to be said or done about it.</p>
<p>^^^ That’s why our elementary schools have “peanut free tables.” Kids with peanut allergies have to sit there, and other kids can join them as long as their lunch is also peanut free.</p>
<p>PB is a cheap source of protein that kids actually like, and it stays without refrigeration. Denying parents the choice of their healthy kid eating peanut butter for lunch is really limiting. Of course providing lunch for your own child is a totally different matter than sending in food for an entire class - those types of treats have to be peanut free.</p>
<p>Funny story. Our schools have gotten so good at teaching kids to watch out for peanut stuff to protect their allergic friends, that when the district switched milk suppliers and the new brand of milk had an Acorn on the label (it came from Oak-something farms) some first-graders went to the lunch ladies and asked concerned questions, thinking there was somehow peanuts in the milk!</p>
<p>Bake sales have been banned for years here in central CA as well.</p>
<p>We also now have the phone less phone-a-thon. You get a note in the mail asking for donations - and a promise that if you donate before a certain time, no one will make a followup call (of course meaning if you don’t donate, you will get a phone call.) Last year, the first year, phone calls were down 90% over previous year phone calls when all solicitations was initiated with a phone call.</p>
<p>VeryHappy…we have one called the “No Bake, Bake Sale”. We ask folks to contribute the amount they would have used to buy the baked goods to our cause. It raises more than the bake sale did by hundreds of dollars…and it’s WAY easier.</p>
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<p>This was not a “good enough” policy for some parents who have children with apparently severe peanut allergies. It ended up resulting in kids bringing in peanut products without peanut free tables!!</p>