Cupcakes out! West Babylon schools ban home-baked goodies

[The Straight Story]

Cupcakes out! West Babylon schools ban home-baked goodies


Home-baked items in West Babylon classes have been banned under an amended wellness policy approved last night that requires that all snack foods served during the school day meet nutritional guidelines and be commercially packaged, school officials said.

Under the new policy, approved by the school board in a 7-2 vote, all snack foods would have to meet nutrition guidelines set by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation or the New York State Nutrition Association's Choose Sensibly guidelines.

Items on the association's guidelines include snacks such as baked chips, fruit pops made with real fruit, trail mix without nuts, low-fat pudding and animal crackers.

The policy, which goes into effect Monday, also bans home-baked items at in-class parties.

Board member Carmine Galletta voted for the policy, but did so with "a heavy heart," he said, because children would not enjoy parties at school as much. "I think it is a shame and I think the children are losing out on something they can enjoy," he said.

http://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/food-and-recipes/cupcakes-out-west-babylon-schools-ban-home-baked-goodies-1.1521806

[Xithras]

1. There are still schools that allow that?

My kids school district banned homemade goodies almost 15 years ago. They used the excuse of "liability issues".

[The Straight Story]

4. But notice you CAN bring in fruits - which someone could mess with ahead of time

Or maybe they grew themselves with some banned pesticide.

[liberal N proud]

9. Spike the oranges

[Xithras]

21. You can't even do that at my kids schools.

And kids can be suspended for sharing lunches (they typically issue warnings a few times before they resort to that, but it's always an option).

All foods donated for classroom use must be provided by a commercial store, and must be in closed, sealed packaging when delivered. My wife once bought a box of cupcakes from a local bakery for my daughters classroom, and had to take them home because she'd OPENED THE BOX to look at them.

There is no differentiation in the rules between types. ALL food not purchased by school employees has to be commercially packaged.

[JackintheGreen]

10. Just today

I took in knishes for my daughter's class. Otherwise life is sad...

[GodlessBiker]

2. I wonder if the commercially packaged snack industry gave the Board a lot of money...

in campaign contributions.

[Trillo]

22. "commercially packaged" is what stood out for me.

Recently I was in a new store and checking out commercially packaged crackers that I hadn't seen before. I could only find one brand, that I had seen before, which didn't have loads of chemical names that I would have needed Internet access and a search to understand their purpose in the product. (I didn't buy them, either, because of that; but the packaging artwork made some of them look soooooo good and seemingly healthy)

Perhaps this is one of those regulations that at least temporarily counteracts any market backlash because of the potential of obesogens in commercially packaged foods.

[GodlessBiker]

37. I bet those commercially packaged snack people have some nice vending machines in those schools.

[Brickbat]

3. "Children losing out on something they enjoy?" Whatever.

With 25 kids in a class, that's a lot of freaking cupcakes or cookies that I don't want my kid to have. There's plenty of time for sweet treats, and school doesn't need to be a place for that.

[The Straight Story]

5. Well parents could have their kids opt out of that, back when they had a choice (nt)

[Brickbat]

7. The point is, they shouldn't have to.

[Dappleganger]

6. We banned school-prepared goodies

from the lunch room because they are high in fat, sugar and processed ingredients. I can damn-guarantee you that what we send to school with them each day is a heck of a lot healthier than anything they serve up there.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. I can accept the ban on cupcakes, but no the 'out-lawing' of home produced snacks. Is there a reason

a mother can't make trail mix or fruit pops?

[Xithras]

26. The reason my kids school district would give you...

...is that you don't have the financial liablity insurance needed to cover a lawsuit. If one of your fruit pops caused an allergic reaction in one of the kids and their parents sued the school, the school wants to be able to sue you to recoup any losses, or to ask the judge to reassign the suit to you because you were the provider of the food.

Bringing in third party foods creates a potential liability for school districts. They need to know that they can cover their losses if they get sued over it. Commercial food providers and bakeries have insurance to cover these sorts of things...you don't.

[sinkingfeeling]

33. Wow, just wow! Since my son's been out of school since 1988, I had no idea.

[surrealAmerican]

39. In some states (and I don't know if NY is one of them) ...

... it's about a new, stricter interpretation of the state health codes. Since your kitchen is not subject to state inspections, like commercial establishments are, it could be "unsanitary".

[NeedleCast]

11. Cant have anyone interfering with the corporate masters right to sell sugar at schools

FFS....

[drm604]

12. I remember my mom bringing homemade cupcakes to my grade school class on my birthday.

It was a different world then.

[MercutioATC]

13. Yet another childhood apocalypse I managed to live through.

I actually ATE CUPCAKES THAT WEREN'T MADE BY A MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION when I was a kid.


I'm damn lucky to be alive.

[NeedleCast]

16. I bet you rode a bike without NFL quality helment and pads too

Its amazing any of us survived.

[The Straight Story]

17. And I remember our teachers smoking in the lounge and on play ground

95% of us died because of that, I was one of the lucky ones.

[NeedleCast]

19. Lucky really

Just think what the world population would be like now if so, so many of our peers hadn't died due to sugar, salt or second hand smoke. They did us a favor, really.

[MercutioATC]

27. My science teacher actually let us push a blob of mercury around on a table in class one day!

...and I ate apples that fell on the ground without washing them...and my father occasionally let me sit on his lap and steer the car when he drove.


Statistically, I've been dead for 17 years.

[ejpoeta]

31. we ate vegetables out of the garden without washing them. we'd pick them

and pop them in our mouths. of course, we didn't put pesticides on our vegetables either.

my parents had a playpen set up in the back of the station wagon that they would put the younguns in. i also used to go off for hours being required to be home at dinnertime or dusk. i rode my bike into town, crossing a very busy and dangerous route 20 or rode my bike a couple of miles to my friends house. i didn't need to constantly call my folks to tell them where i was. i just came home when i was supposed to.

[MercutioATC]

34. Statistically, you're dead, too.

It's a shame, because you seem to have had such an enjoyable childhood...

[ejpoeta]

24. bet you didn't know anyone with peanut or dairy or other allergies that seems to be

all over the place now. but i don't know that that is the reason for the ban.

[MercutioATC]

32. I knew kids with allergies to various things.

They knew not to eat whatever they were allergic to.

[Berry Cool]

40. The problem with some allergies is that they are so severe that eating the food isn't necessary

to kill the poor kid. Just breathing in peanut dust can kill a kid with a peanut allergy, or touching something that has touched peanuts--and sadly that's no exaggeration.

I don't know what the phenomenon is that has created so many kids with such a severe anaphylatic reaction to peanuts when that kind of allergy was pretty much unknown in my own childhood, but it's there and it's really not fair to pooh-pooh it, because it's very real. Saying "Aw, come on, a little peanut dust won't kill them" simply is not true. It will.

I feel sorry in some ways for today's kids, because they can't do the stuff I did as a kid--although in some cases they're not missing all that much. I wish they had the freedom to wander around the neighborhood on their own like I once did, but I don't think it's so awful that they have to use safety seats in the car. I am still amazed when I think of having ridden all the way from Ohio to Florida and back at age 4 while sitting on the little armrest hump in the middle of the front seat of my dad's car. And I almost drowned in a swimming pool once we reached our destination, too. I figure if I were a cat, I'd have had only seven lives left after that trip.

[abelenkpe]

14. Low fat?

Kids don't need low fat, imitation sweeteners or low salt food.

That stuff is for adults on strict diets for health reasons. I would be just as suspicious of foods with those labels pre-packaged or not.

They are pretty strict about group snacks at my kids school as well preferring fresh fruit and real fruit juice.

But does this rule mean kids have to bring pre-packaged food for their own consumption in their lunches? Or is it just for group snacks. I'd be pretty upset if I had to buy pre-packaged food for my kids as overly processed food is not particularly healthy or flavorful.

[jmm]

15. Prepackaged food is so much healthier and cheaper than

the homemade chips my mom use to send me to school with or the organic cake I made for her recently :eyes:.

[no_hypocrisy]

18. Open your lunchbox! We're the Food Police!

One more way children are having their childhoods taken away.

[JoeyT]

20. Looks like enough of our generation got away.

Now they've realized their mistake and are trying to reinforce the idea of bowing to your corporate masters to younger kids.
Of course it doesn't help that there are a lot of parents that'll be on board because the very thought of their children even knowing there are unhealthy foods out there breaks them out into a cold sweat.

[ejpoeta]

23. we haven't ever been able to bring any homemade stuff since my 10 year old started school.

and most likely long before that even. i'm surprised anyone allowed that these days.

[Arugula Latte]

25. Our schools have had that ban ever since my kids have been attending.

This year the elementary school banned all birthday treats (including store bought) brought into the classroom, for health reasons. You're supposed to donate a book to the class in honor of your kid's b-day...It's not quite the same. Oh well ...

[The Straight Story]

30. School used to be fun to go to. No wonder so many home school now (like me)

My sister HS'd all three of her kids and had co-ops through the church and such (so they often had classroom atmospheres). Lots of baked goods brought in, cupcakes, etc (and all three of her kids are as fit as fiddles).

When I grew up we did the same thing, and not many overweight kids in my class (I only remember one off hand, Gary, and he was not that big at all). We had gym, played outside at recess, and played kickball and football after school - and the kids who weren't playing those things were using riding their bikes around the hood or walking dogs.

Maybe the schools don't need to change, maybe the lifestyles of the students need to.

[Arugula Latte]

35. Yep -- Kids are over-scheduled and over sheltered.

There are lots of video game addicts. My daughter has a boy in her class who only talks about playing video games and going to McDonalds or KFC. Needless to say, he is the only overweight child in the class.

I do think there is a bit of a backlash growing amongst parents & schools. Our school is really pushing the "walk or bike" to school thing, and my daughter and her friend do bike or walk frequently, if it's not dumping rain. We let our kids run around, ride bikes and shoot hoops on the cul de sac, but we're lucky that we have a low traffic area and a safe neighborhood (of course no neighborhood is entirely safe, but it's not a good idea to live in fear all the time). I do hear more parents talking about how kids should just go outside and play rather than have all scheduled activities or "screen time." There's a book called "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv. I haven't read it yet, but I believe it addresses a lot of these issues.

[Blue State Blues]

28. The pre-packaged rule is usually about food allergies

and sometimes food safety.

For food allergies, the labeling of the packaged item is the key. And for food safety, the idea is that the packaged items were prepared in a location that has been inspected and met hygiene requirements.

I'm saying I agree, just that the usual rationale behind a "no home made food" rule in schools.

This is the first time I've seen it in a nutritional guideline context, but it probably won't be the last.

[grasswire]

29. what took them so long?

This unfortunate policy has been in effect in my town for a decade at least.

[Buns_of_Fire]

36. "A local student, Jerry Toklas, has registered his official complaint..."

His mother, Alice B. Toklas, also expressed surprise. 'My mother's brownies always seemed to make the rest of the schoolday shorter," Jerry said. 'Half the time, I didn't even know I was in school. Are you going to eat that Twinkie?'"

[damntexdem]

38. Oh, no: another Babylonian Captivity!

The kids can't have their cake nor eat it too.

[davsand]

41. The "Commercially Packaged" requirement does not bother me at all.

Am I the only one that thinks about the health department regulation of commercial kitchens? I think maybe it is kind of a good idea that our kids' food is coming from a place with some standards of hygiene rather than granny's kitchen with nine cats standing on the counter helping her frost everything and the dog licking the knife in between cupcakes...

I don't care much for pot lucks for that same reason. I KNOW what my kitchen is like, but I have zero idea what everybody else does about cleaning and food sanitation.

YMMV.



Laura

[ljm2002]

42. It is only a matter of time...

...before people will be charged with child abuse for not feeding their children prepackaged foods. Just for their own safety, dontcha know.

Well I guess it won't go that far. But it is amazing how this is going. Remember, over the last few years, how many food recalls there have been? Usually it's meats; sometimes it's packaged spinach or other salad greens. Yet, we are supposed to believe that the danger comes from a neighbor's possibly less than spotless kitchen.

Yet another way in which the population is encouraged to distrust one another, while trusting the nameless, faceless corporations From Which All Good Things Flow.

pffft.