An angry crowd of parents, kids, and elected officials gathered outside City Hall yesterday to protest Chancellor's Regulation A-812, which bars the sale of home-baked goods at school fundraisers, while sanctioning the sale of foods such as Baked Doritos.
The protest drew more than 100 parents and kids. Some decried the hypocrisy of banning the tradition of selling home-baked goods -- all in the name of wellness -- while approving the sale of processed foods.
"There are so many things they can do before they get into the bake sales, which has been the parents' territory for generations, " said Brooklyn New School parent Larissa Phillips who came to the protest with her daughter. "When they sell Snapple to make money it's OK , but when we try to sell some baked goods, it's unhealthy and not OK -- that's a double standard."
Others who joined the protest, like Public Advocate Bill De Blasio, bristled at the lack of common sense shown in the matter. He echoed the frustration expressed by many protesters in the crowd. "You can't make a school better without involving parents to the fullest, and right now, this decision, like so many others, was made with only the most superficial effort to engage parents. "
The Bake-In drew a lot of news coverage. Gothamschools features commentary from Bake-In organizers Elizabeth Puccini and Anisa Romero, and NY-1 was there too.
Since this was a parent-led event, we'll let a mom have the last word. Check out what the co-president of the NEST+M PTA, Susan Townes-West had to say:
UPDATE: Department of Education spokeswoman, Margie Feinberg contacted Insideschools to clarify that Chancellor's Regulation A-812 allows parent organizations to hold one bake sale per month at any time during the school day during which they can sell home-baked goods.
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