California schools ban bake sales: Is New York next?

November 10, 11:57 AMNY Schools ExaminerKathleen Byrne

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School officials killed the mainstay of school fund-raising, the bake sale, in California. Our own Mayor Bloomberg, a fit and trim 66-year-old, signed an executive order in September to cut fat, salt, sugar from meals served not only in public schools but also in jails, senior centers and other places where the city contracts food vendors.

It’s nice to see that the nutritional standards set for our children are on par with the ones mandated for our criminals.

After having already banned trans fat oils, the mayor went one step further and limited sodium, calories, and fiber. For breakfast, all juice must be 100 percent fruit juice. At each lunch and dinner, two or more servings of vegetables—fresh or frozen, not canned—shall be served. In 2004 schools replaced traditional white-flour pizza with a fiber rich whole-wheat crust.

The nutritional guidelines only apply to the food served by NYC contractors, and, in New York, they don’t pertain to food sold at concession stands on city property—not yet at least.

“All of the walking that we New Yorkers do helps us to stay fit and trim, but it is not enough—in fact, we are suffering from an epidemic of obesity, just like the rest of this country,” Bloomberg said. “We really have to do something about this.”

Is New York just one executive order away from a ban on school bake sales? Sixteen states have already limited competitive foods--the cookies, cupcakes and brownies sold at school bake sales. In fact, that bastion of American trend setting, the State of Kentucky, has the strictest school nutritional guidelines in the country. It’s hard to fathom Mayor Bloomberg allowing his city to be out-maneuvered by Kentucky.