Oct 9, 2009 7:11 pm US/Eastern
NY School District: 'No Cake For You!'
Homemade Baked Goods Ban On Table At West Babylon Schools
Reporting
Cindy Hsu
WEST BABYLON, N.Y. (CBS) ―
Many kids like to celebrate their birthdays in school with homemade cupcakes or cookies, but that may no longer be an option for thousands of kids in West Babylon, where there's a baked goods ban on the table.
Health Magazine named West Babylon High School the healthiest school in the country, and now the entire school district is going the wellness route.
School officials want to ban homemade goodies, often brought to class to celebrate birthdays, and only allow commercially packaged foods that include a list of ingredients and meet nutritional guidelines.
"I feel children should be able to celebrate their birthday – it's only once a year," mother Debbie Fasitta says. "They all love the cupcakes."
"It's probably better as far allergies go," mother Dawn Gobel says. "I know these severe allergies weren't around when I was younger, but I know people who have bad food allergies, and it's probably better for the children."
"I think, when you make things at home, it's healthier – everything that goes in it is definitely healthier than what you'd find at the stores," mother Celeste Prior says.
Assistant School Superintendent Dr. Dominick Palma says parents can find hundreds of healthy pre-packaged snacks on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation Web site, and they all meet specific nutritional guidelines.
Palma says one of his schools has adopted the motto "fun, not food" when it comes to school celebrations.
"What's happened throughout the country and also locally, if you want to celebrate a cultural issue, you don't do it through food," Palma says. "You do it through dance or music or storytelling, or games or things like that."
The Board of Education will vote on the issue Tuesday. The Assistant Superintendent expects it to pass, and the new rules would take effect immediately.
Dr. Palma says many schools across the country have already instituted similar changes, and while they're met with some resistance at first, parents are often happy with the healthier alternatives once they get use to them.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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