Bake Sale Buzz Kill

My timing couldn't have been worse. Now that I finally know how to bake sweet treats from scratch, New York City is voting today on whether to amend the pre-existing ban on selling homemade goodies at school "bake" sales.

According to yesterday's New York Times' "City Room" blog:

The new regulation is meant as a compromise between the city’s concerns about childhood obesity— which they cite as the reason for the restrictions — and the fund-raising needs of student and parent groups, some of which are struggling amid difficult economic times, especially after losing one of their most lucrative sources of revenue.

Under the new rules, students may sell fresh fruits and vegetables, or one of 27 specific packaged items that have been approved for sales in city vending machines, between the start of school and 6 p.m. on weekdays. The same goes for parent groups, except for an exception carved out for one no-brownies-barred Parent Teacher Association bake sale during the school day per month.

No homemade or unpackaged items are on the list of “approved” foods because “it’s impossible to know what the content is, or what the portion size is,” said Kathleen Grimm, the deputy chancellor for infrastructure and portfolio planning, who oversees the regulation.

As a mom of two school-age children, I'm all for limiting the sweets intake. But I don't see how packaged items such as Dorito's and Pop-Tarts (both of which are on the list of approved items) are healthier than my homemade brownies.