Next week, Brooklyn parents will protest the city Department of Education’s (DOE) new bake sale rules — by making cupcakes.
On March 18 from 4-6 p.m., parents are expected to pack City Hall for a “bake-in rally.” They’re outraged that the DOE now allows Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) to regularly sell prepackaged snacks, including Doritos and Pop-Tarts, but homemade desserts may be sold just once a month.
“This regulation mandates that if we want to raise money for our schools, we have to buy and sell junk food to our children! Our cookies and banana bread aren’t good enough,” asserted the East Village parents behind www.nycgreenschools.org. “Our children cannot receive the message that junk food is healthier for them than foods cooked at home. This will only encourage a lifetime of bad eating habits.”
“I would love to have each of your schools bring out at least 30 parents with their children for the rally,” said Elizabeth Puccini, a protest organizer.
The DOE prefers prepackaged snacks because they display nutritional information, whereas homemade grub does not.
Brooklyn parents aren’t so supportive of the new rules.
“How anyone can laud the nutritional merits of a Pop-Tart is beyond me,” said Martha Foote, whose son attends P.S. 321 in Park Slope.
She objects to “our children eating processed foods that I would not allow my children to eat at home, for instance Pop-Tarts or Doritos.”
