HOLLISTER
The days baking, frosting and decorating the perfect cupcakes for your child’s classroom birthday celebration could be gone soon in Hollister.
With a strong emphasis on combating childhood obesity and youth-onset diabetes in schools, districts throughout the country are banning sweets and treats from the classroom. While the Hollister School District currently has stringent rules on what can be sold on campus during school hours – the days of a lunchtime bake sale are gone – there is still some question about what can be brought for classroom celebrations.
Many in the Hollister School District worry that limiting the sweets that can be brought in will remove the celebratory nature of a child’s birthday, and that eliminating party cake and cookies is not really be the answer to the problem with obesity among children.
“A cupcake is not the end of the world,” said Gabilan Hills parent Angela Scarcella. “It’s not like there’s a birthday every day.”
All schools allow bringing in treats for birthdays and other celebrations, but some require that they be purchased at a store or bakery. Birthday treats are not regulated at the district level – each school must decide whether they allow homemade treats and how healthy these items must be.
At a recent Hollister School District Board of Trustees meeting, Superintendent Ron Crates said there was some resistance toward this decision from the schools’ principals, who believe there should be some consistency.
“I don’t want to have schools going against each other because one allows one thing and one does not,” Crates said. “What happens is one (parent teacher organization) will call another and say, ‘How come you can do this and we can’t?'”
At the meeting, trustees formed a subcommittee to look at the district’s wellness policy, specifically when it comes to classroom celebrations.
For the district, the policy is a delicate balance between children’s health and safety and the very nature of a child’s birthday celebration.
“I think there need to be traditions that happen in schools for kids, but I’m just concerned about the health of kids and allergies,” Crates said.
Scarcella, who is the parent teacher organization president at Gabilan Hills, said that although she understands districts are stressing health and nutrition in schools, she doesn’t believe banning classroom treats is the answer for the Hollister School District.
“I understand the school district is trying to combat the overwhelming obesity problem, but taking cupcakes out of the school isn’t going to stop it,” Scarcella said.
Scarcella said a full-fledged physical education program should be more a priority for the school district than dictating what food items students bring in for birthday celebrations.
Childhood obesity and youth-onset diabetes are also affected by what the child eats at home, Scarcella said.
“It starts at home. If kids aren’t going to get it at school, they’re going to get it at home,” she said. “If you don’t teach the parents, don’t take your kids to McDonald’s every day – take them on walks, it’s not going to change everything.”
But while several schools have encouraged students to bring healthy snacks, none in Hollister have banned sweets altogether.
Crates’ biggest concern is that food items are store bought, because homemade treats can put the district “in a very negative position.”
Having items that are store bought helps to know the exact ingredients and fat content, and it also ensures they are made sanitarily.
Scarcella said she understood this request.
“I know my kitchen is safe, but I don’t know about other people’s, so I think it’s better if it’s store bought,” Scarcella said.
But others have said this removes some of the tradition from a child’s birthday celebration.
School board member Randy Phelps, who is on the subcommittee looking at the district’s classroom celebration food policy, said families should be allowed to bring in homemade treats.
“Typically, food is a big part of culture. I want to make sure that the families have the opportunities to be a part of the school by bringing in and sharing food,” he said.
Phelps said it also gave students the opportunity to learn about their classmates and different cultures by eating food from different homes – be it a homemade frosted birthday cake or tacos.
“I don’t want it to just be a homogenized experience from Safeway,” he said. “If a grandma wants to bring in tamales for the kids who haven’t done it before, I want them to be able to.”
