09 May 2012 Massachusetts Bans the Bake Sale!

On August 1, the only food that can legally be sold in Massachusetts public schools is food that is prepared or distributed by the school.  That means the era of the bake sale is over in the Bay State.  As if that isn’t enough, regulators are looking to further ban any similar sales as they relate to after-school activities such as banquets, sporting events and door-to-door candy sales.

Interviewed by UPI, one PTA parent succinctly explains the effect this ban will have on fundraising for extracurricular organizations such as clubs and sports teams: “If you want to make a quick $250, you hold a bake sale.”

But the Massachusetts Department of Public Health says selling Bundt cakes to buy bats is no way to combat childhood obesity.  DPH medical director Dr. Lauren Smith says: “We know that schools need those clubs and resources.  We want them to be sure and have them, but to [fundraise for] them a different way.”

So good luck with that, parents!

Project 21 spokeswoman Cherylyn Harley LeBon says this is yet another example of the rise of the nanny state in America, and that the government needs to realize it is the home where habits are acquired and not their institutions of learning.  Cherylyn says:

As the mother of two young children, I am just as concerned as anyone else about alarming obesity rates in our country.  No one wants their child to be obese.  However, it is not the government’s job to police what our children consume.  It is parent’s responsibility to provide their children with healthy and nutritious meals.

States and schools can ban whatever food they prefer, but children will learn healthy eating habits at their own kitchen table — not from a state imposed law.