What Happened to the Bake Sale?

Posted on by jagrout

GoodiesNo self-respecting Grandma can pass up an opportunity to bakesome homemade goodies for a cause:

  • a family birthday party
  • dessert for a holiday meal at the homeless shelter
  • a fund-raiser at the local elementary school to support their spring field trip

This week, my church is asking for donations of home-baked treats for Andre House in Phoenix, Arizona for Easter dinner.

This got me wondering: What happened to that all-American event: the Bake Sale?

My research shows we now live in a government mandated treat free zone: the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. It’s part of the “Let’s Move!” initiative from the White House. So this sends a message to all school fundraisers accustomed to relying on home bakers like me who donate those gooey fudgy brownies topped with butter-laden frosting and chopped walnuts (which, BTW, are recommended as part of a daily healthy diet) that now we must substitute “treat bags” stuffed with mini-carrots, radishes, and grape tomatoes. Yum!

Here’s a pop quiz (just like those the teacher springs on kids on Mondays):

  • Congress and the Executive Branch think:
  1. The voting public doesn’t have the ability to raise children who make wise food choices.
    T or F
  2. Eliminating Milkshake Monday or Frosted Biscuit Friday will drive hordes of kids to anxiously anticipate Kiwi Wednesday.
    T or F
  3. No home in America will ever again provide chips, cookies, or ice cream treats for kids.
    T or F
  4. The only government sanctioned “Bake Sale” is now the hip hop duo by that name.
    T or F
  5. The “Let’s Move” initiative will be misinterpreted by those same dense voters and cause a dramatic increase in applications to seek citizenship elsewhere.
    T or F
  6. Trick-or-treaters will now be delighted that Halloween treats are kid-friendly shoelaces, apples, or protein nut bars.
    T or F

So there you have it then. As I see it, the trouble with home baked goodies is just exactly that – they are home baked with love and taste delicious and the occasional high calorie snack will feed little brains with the energy needed to figure out things for themselves. So they get my vote.