State wants to put school bake sales back in business

LANSING, Mich. — Cupcakes could be making a comeback in Michigan schools.

Legislation introduced in the state House and Senate would give Michigan school officials flexibility to raise money at least three times a week by selling snacks now banned under federal guidelines.

The federal rules, which went into effect for the current school year, essentially put the kibosh on bake sales and some other popular fund-raisers.

Why?

Because the rules — championed by first lady Michelle Obama — require anything sold as a snack be healthy. And state officials have declined so far to allow flexibility, as have officials in more than 30 other states.

The federal rules have stifled parent-teacher groups across the state that relied on bake sales for a large chunk of their money.

"It's been a tough year," said Samantha Phillips, president of the Rochester, Mich., Community Schools PTA Council. Bake sales were easy to stage.

"We had huge participation by the parents," she said. "And you knew the kids were going to love it."

It's all part of federal efforts to ensure that kids have healthy eating options in school.

What's in? More whole grains, fruits and vegetables, leaner proteins and lower-fat dairy.

What's out? Foods with too much sugar, fat and salt.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show 17% of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 were considered obese during the 2011-12 school year.

While states are allowed exemptions from the federal rules, the Michigan Department of Education said after consultation with local schools that it opted to not allow any fundraisers that don't meet the healthy standards.

State Sen. Patrick Colbeck, a Republican from Canton, Mich., heard about the ban during a public forum with a group of Cub Scouts. The last child to ask a question wanted to know why he couldn't sell brownies in school to raise money for his organization.

"You're essentially cutting them off and saying,'We're cutting off this livelihood you've had for your organization,' " Colbeck said.

Colbeck is among a group of 20 senators in the Michigan Legislature who have introduced a bill that would require the state education department to allow as many as three fund-raising activities a week that don't meet the federal nutrition guidelines. A similar bill was introduced in the state House by Rep. Pat Somerville, a New Boston Republican.

The goal: Give schools the control to decide. A third bill, in the House, also was introduced recently.

If approved, the three-a-week exemption would give Michigan schools more flexibility than most other states that set the limit at several a year.

Lori Levi of Canton, whose children attend the K-8 Canton Charter Academy, said Colbeck's bill "will give us the ability to do special events."

Her school used to have Wacky Wednesdays once a month, where the middle school-age students could come early in the morning to socialize, do some studying and get a doughnut. When those went away, so did many of the kids.

"We tried a couple of things, like whole-grain muffins," Levi said. "Kids didn't want to come in for that. It just doesn't have the same appeal."

Bill DiSessa, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Education, said "it was a collective decision to not allow the non-compliant fund-raisers."

Some sales of non-compliant snacks still are allowed, as long as the food isn't intended for immediate consumption. That means you can still sell Girl Scout cookies, Boy Scout popcorn, frozen pizza kits and frozen cookie dough, DiSessa said.

"It's important to note that many healthy fund-raising options are available to schools that are easy to implement and profitable," he said.

But Phillips said few of the alternatives are as quick and easy as a bake sale. Some PTA groups in her district generated 90% of their budget from bake sales.

The new federal guidelines, in addition to new district guidelines that address children with life-threatening allergies, have meant lots of meetings to try and figure out what is OK and what isn't.

Some schools have tried to move some fund-raising events to the evenings, outside school hours, she said. But attendance isn't as high at those events.

"Now we have to try other things," Phillips said.