New York City public schools are no longer allowing bakes sales to sell homemade items yet have approved of twenty-seven prepackaged items for sale at schools. The ban is one measure intended to help deal with obesity. See an article about it here in the New York Times. I just don’t get it.
Categorically banning home-baked goods is a bit silly given what students actually eat in schools and that the approved items include pop-tarts and Doritos. Do we trust snacks made by giant companies over ones made by parents and students?
My school has a no-food-from-home policy that is based on similar health concerns but also due to the prevalence of severe food allergies, which I find easier to swallow. There are no cupcakes to celebrate birthdays and no bake sales whatsoever. It’s kind of sad.
Yearly, there are huge recalls in the processed food industry. Baked goods from even the dirtiest home kitchen could never cause the number of illnesses caused by the tainted peanut butter that went into the industry and institutions across this country two years ago. I'm sure the makers of Doritos and Pop Tarts are thrilled by decisions like this, though. It's just a bigger piece of the pie for them. As for allergies, I can go out of my way to guarantee that the utensils I used to make a baked good never touched peanuts or gluten, if I need to. Big companies just put warnings on their packaging.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how freaked out Americans are about everything. I live in Israel where Terrorism is a daily threat, but the scouts sell home baked goods on street corners and nobody gives it a second thought. There are also far fewer instances of peanut allergies in this country, but babies of 3 months are given Bamba, a snack like puffy cheetos except they are peanut flavor, not cheese. this results in fewer peanut allergies, not more.
ReplyDeleteThat is so silly. I'd rather trust the baked goods for not only not being tainted but healthier or at least you have control over what you put in them.
ReplyDeleteSoooooo silly. I heard about this on NPR, and the mothers were making organic, healthified versions of things, and were being told they couldn't sell them, but could sell ding dongs. Insane.
ReplyDeleteI find this to be a shame. I understand the allergy concern (though I think the entire thing has been blown out of proportion in recent years), but nothing can be better for you - if you're going to be eating junk food anyway - than home baked goods.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the positive, think of all of the innovative fundraisers and celebrations that will be planned now. The issue of raising money is still there just now kids (and teachers alike) will need to get a little bit more creative.
ReplyDeleteOne of the major issues with the western diet is that 'sometimes' foods like cupcakes have become 'everyday' foods. Food rewards in schools have with out a doubt further exacerbated this issue.
No way. Can you please elaborate, are you saying they've banned food from home in the sense that kids can't bring lunches their parents made, too?
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