uptowngirl
uptowngirl

Banning of Bake Sales in Schools

In an environment where the first Lady, Michelle Obama is launching campaigns to fight childhood obesity and latest British import , the naked chef, Jamie Oliver is attempting to teach America to eat healthy, the NYC department of education has gone on to put a ban on bake sales in schools. The ban which has outraged NYC parents who have for generations used bake sales as fund raising events to raise funds for school activities. Now the NYC department of education has banned them under seemingly well intentioned premise of fighting childhood obesity but has instead allowed the sale of overly processed and packaged foods like Doritos, pop tarts and chips at schools. Surely homemade foods are more nutritious than these processed snacks?

http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2010/03/23/nyc-dept-of-ed-bans-bake-sales-oks-doritos/

Recently a Chicago school teacher, Mrs Q who was forced to eat the school lunch served at her school was so appalled by the food that her students were being served that she decided to undertake the odorous task of eating school lunches for an entire year. She also set up a blog - Fed up with School Lunch-http://fedupwithschoollunch.blogspot.com/ to draw attention to the poor nutritional value of these school lunches.

In the light of all this you have to really wonder at the NYC department of education's powers to be ...
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
8 people following
this discussion
Report

30 Comments

hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
I know. They seem to have double standards. On one hand they want to fight obesity, but on the other hand, they don't care about the health of kids. Plus, the junk food you spoke about also adds to obesity. And these morons at the school board don't realize it.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
Not only is it so stupid to ban bake sales, but the food served in cafeterias is generally of low quality and not what you would call a healthy choice - you're right, it's such a horrible double standard. There is a section in that book Fast Food Nation that talks about how fast food companies actually get better qualities of meat than school cafeterias - if that tells you anything.

That lady with the blog is awesome...
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Good grief! School officials have to be the dumbest of all dumb administrators!
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
I second that, Uraniumfish. I think many politicians lack commonsense anyway. For people who have so many letters next to their name, they sure don't act like they deserved them.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
That's really disgusting - and just silly! Home-baked brownies are far less likely than soda and pre-packaged cookies to make kids obsese - and healthy eating habits involve a bit of moderate treating every once in a while - better than frequent binge eating!
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
And, it's not like the goods they sell at the Bake Sales are being purchased by the 8 year olds and consumed on the premises. It's other people buying them. Ridiculous.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Yet there still aren't any vegetables or fruits in cafeterias! How is Chicken McNuggets and fries any better than a delicious home-baked goodie or two?
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
I wouldn't have paid to be in on that board meeting, where they were discussing the benefits of not having a freakin' bake sale.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
I would love to have been in that meeting. I would have lost my temper and shouted a good deal - I mean, BAKE SALES! I doubt anyone would have listened to what I had to say. Clearly "common sense" isn't a worthwhile explanation these days.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Everyone the mind sometimes boggles at the attitude of these officials.. you've got to think what in the world were they thinking?
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
Right... like one bake sale is really going to increase obesity levels a whole lot. And they probably thought they were being soooo health conscious!
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Two words, guys: carrot cake. Healthy and delicious! I must admit that carrot cake is my favorite flavor of cake, especially with a delicious cream cheese top!
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
I love the carrot cake . . . but, eh, that's pretty bad for you too. Since when did everyone stop putting the fork down when they were full? It's crazy. Just stop eating and you won't be obese.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@ajadedidealist I second that, btw Konditor and Cook in London do a pretty good carrot cake if you crave some when you are there.


@JenMac also most of these so-called diet foods which are overly processed actually make you want to eat more as you are lulled into a false sense of security that they ok to eat and then to go ahead to to scarf down truck loads way more than the suggested portion sizes.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
I discovered a great diet food the other day: MUSHROOMS. They have practically no calories (okay, like three calories a mushroom), and are delicious, esp. sauteed in white wine with olive oil, and are high in protein and nutrients. A great way to stock up and fill up without bingeing.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Ajadedidealist: I never ate mushrooms until I reached my 30's. I think it is because when growing up, I was told they were poisonous. I found out later that only a certain species is poisonous.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
You're really not supposed to eat processed sugar of any kind. I cut all sugar out of my diet and I looked and felt great. It's really difficult (and, I was eating a jar of almond butter every 24 hours) but you really do notice the difference.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@JenMac: You are absolutely correct when it comes to sugar, especially processed sugar. I'm also going to get off the stuff.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@ajadedidealist Like Mushrooms, strawberries are also low in sugar and fat , for the past two days my fruit vendor has been selling the most gorgeous boxed strawberries at $1 a box. I have already devoured three and I hope to go out later to buy some more. I have never had such good strawberries because often the big ones tend to be tasteless but this seems to be a great crop.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@hhusted You are not the only one who thinks ( or used to think) mushrooms are poisonous. My mum and a close friend also stay far away from mushrooms because they seem to be rash inducing in their case.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
I don't have sugar in general, but in my tea I am a sugar and/or sweet and low FIEND. I can't get unhooked...
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Ajadedidealist: Stay away from Sweet and Low. It is poisonous. Even the FDA wrote a report about the dangers of consuming too much of the artificial sweetener. Stevia is best. It is a natural sugar.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
I mean processed sugar -- like basically everything we eat. If you take processed sugar out, then you can't have bread of any kind, gluten, dairy, etc. You basically only eat meat, vegetable, quinoa and legumes.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Sigh, I know @hhusted. But with the amount of tea I drink per day, I'd be 500 pounds if I used proper sugar! I'm not sure I could give up all processed sugars...I love pasta, a bit of bread, rice, etc. But in balance. I still think the sensible Mediterranean Diet is the best. Whenever I go to Italy I eat "loads" but lose tons of weight!
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Didn't somebody tell me molasses is a healthy substitute for sugar? Am I making this up?
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
This might sound faddish, but I've been reading how most Americans' diets are highly acidic, since they tend toward meats and breads, whereas a healthy diet should be balanced between alkaline and acidic foods. So a good thing to do is concentrate more alkaline food into your diet, which makes sense since most fruits and vegetables (with a few exceptions) are at least partly alkaline. I've started experimenting on myself a bit with this, and started adding a lot more alkaline foods to my diet like citrus and almonds (not cutting out anything I like to eat, but merely adding some essential foods to balance things out). I'm pretty happy with the results.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
DBlack
DBlack 2yrs+
I think the NYC dept of education should get a life and go eat some carrot cake. @JenMac Not that most people should cut out processed sugars completely, but actually a diet of mainly meat and vegetables is really great for you! In fact, that's basically my diet. Once in a while a bagel or two, but we can't be all perfect all the time.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@uptowngirl Wish I could get my hands on some good strawberries. I actually can't remember the last time I had some good ones.

@Uraniumfish Americans eat waaaaaaay too much meat. You do NOT need to eat meat every freaking meal, which is what a lot of us do. Supposedly no humans in history have consumed as much meat as we do here.

@everyone Carrot Cake has loads of sugar, as well as butter and perhaps cream cheese in it - it's not a health food just because it has carrots, people!
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish don't know about molasses but have heard of stevia which is supposed to be a natural sugar substitute as it is derived from a plant and if you want to eliminate butter/oil from a cake recipe you can substitute it with unsweetened apple sauce or even pureed fruit. I havent tried it yet but apparently it works..
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.
uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@DBlack if you are a meat and potatoes guy then you definitely want to check out the restaurant Locanda Verde which is located at the Greenwich Hotel in downtown Manhattan. I ate there twice this weekend and on both nights they had a lamb special which was scrumptious. - thinly sliced lamb with some kind of pesto sauce and roast baby potatoes. However before you head out there you better make reservations as the restaurant has a pretty bizarre system in place for you not only need reservations for a table but you also need reservations if you want to just hang at the bar while you wait for your table. This is the first time I have ever experienced this at a Manhattan restaurant and it was irritating to say the least.
Report
The opinions expressed here are those of the individual and not those of StreetAdvisor.

Add a comment

Best Neighborhoods to Live In

8.9

Gramercy Park
Ranked 3rd best neighborhood in Manhattan. View More
8.7

Russian Hill
Ranked 1st best neighborhood in San Francisco. View More
8.6

Magnolia
Ranked 2nd best neighborhood in Seattle. View More
8.9

Georgetown
Ranked 3rd best neighborhood in Washington. View More

Best Cities to Live In

6.9

Boston
Ranked 1st best city in Massachusetts. View More
7.1

Chicago
Ranked 2nd best city in Illinois. View More
7.1

Minneapolis
Ranked 7th best city in Minnesota. View More
5.8

Philadelphia
Ranked 2nd best city in Pennsylvania. View More

Tell everyone what you love about your neighborhood!

Leave a Review

Have a question?

How are schools? Is the area safe? What about public transit options?" Why not ask our community of locals!

Ask Now

Selling or Renting Your Home?

Maximize the selling price of your home by sharing what you love about your suburb to increase its appeal...

Leave a Review

Corporate Relocation Manager?

Enable your employees to share local knowledge in a private, trusted environment with those relocating... while building community.

Learn More

To leave a review, please search for a city or neighborhood, click search, then click the "write a review" button near the top of the page.

Close x