By Sade Ortuzar
Cupcakes, chocolate cakes, carrot cakes and other desserts aren’t being sold in schools anymore. Why? Because, according to some of the most recent research into the high rates of obesity in school age children, the popular bake sale, a quick, collaborative and involved way to raise funds, have been banned in New York City public schools. While the goal of banning the bake sale is make students healthy and to limit the obesity rate, these latest regulations from the city’s Department of Education, are making students furious.For many students, the ubiquitous bake sale in every school’s calendar encourages many to crave sweets in various forms and because of their relatively low price; many are able to afford to spend their dimes to fill their stomach with sugar-based products. This has become the target of the regulations: to limit, reduce, and remove sugar-based products, which also include beverages, in all public schools.
As a quick fundraising opportunity, in the school setting, bake sales have grown into an easy way to earn cash for sports teams and clubs. With the ban, students in the city’s public schools would have to find new ways to raise money.
Elizabeth Lyton, a student from High School Graphic Communication of Arts, suggests festivals and plays as a great new way to raise money for any school activities.
In contradiction to the new regulation, which is slow in changing attitudes and behavior to eating healthy, many fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dunkin Donuts, and Burger King have sprung up around the High School Graphic Communication of Arts.
Students have the advantage of eating breakfast from these fast food outlets before school starts and lunch or snacks afterschool. While cakes sold in bake sales contain a lot of calories, so does the school lunch, which is often made up of burgers, chicken fingers, and pizzas, food high in calories, that are often given to students.
The question remains how would reducing or removing bake sales as a means of fund raising going to make students not want to eat junk food?
