PTO Today

Hi there,

Yesterday parents received a flyer from PTA stating "due to a newly implemented school wellness policy that restricts the types of food that can be distributed on school grounds we must cancel Muffins for Mom/Donuts for Dad". (Westside Union school district in California)

The event was scheduled for tomorrow morning. Needless to say, myself and lots of other parents are upset that PTA could not come up with an alternative in a more timely manner since this policy has evidently been an ongoing issue the whole school year. Sadly the parents not on the PTA board have not been informed by the elementary school or thru thePTA general association meetings that there is a new "policy" being implemented.

Has anyone else run across this in their state or is this just in California?

Gosh -- what nonsense. I think I would propose "Twinkies for Tots", "MoonPies for Moms" events as alternatives, but that would just be me being bitter.

Have definitely seen wellness policies causing confusion, but yours is a pretty extreme case. Part of being well is to have common sense and balance, too. Perhaps you guys can help the wellness police see that point, as well.

Have also seen that many local committees have mis-read (too strongly) actual state or national regulations. Events like those you are almost always just fne.

Tim

Well that stinks. Especially with such short notice.

No, this isn't just a California thing. School districts all over the country are implementing wellness policies. Overall I think it's a positive, but some schools or individuals are going overboard in the interpretation, as in your case. But, in the short term, I think it's going to be easier to make some menu changes than to get anyone to change their interpretation.

Can you get a copy of the wellness policy and read it for yourself? Maybe with more information you could come up with an acceptable alternative and reschedule. For example, muffins don't have to be chocolate chip. Perhaps the language of the policy would allow you to serve low sugar pumpkin, zucchini, or carrot muffins? (They're not as bad as they sound, I swear! We have a wellness policy, too, so I made pumpkin muffins instead of cupcakes for my daughter's birthday treat and the kids really liked them.)

Also, it might be a good idea to find out who has final say on what's ok to serve and what's not and present the menu to that person for approval well in advance so you won't risk getting cancelled again. At our school it's the principal, so any time we want to serve food we run it by her first. Thankfully, she's very sensible in her interpretation of the policy, so we rarely get a "no", but it's best not to have any last minute surprises.

NISI is correct - many of us have felt the pinch as more restrictive food policies have been put in place. It's driven from the federal level and school's can lose very important federal funds from the school lunch program if they violate the policies.
It's implemented at the state level, which might be more restrictive than even the federal guidelines.

Texas was among the first and among the most restrictive. When it first came out, it effected using food in the classroom, parties, muffin-with-mom type celebrations, sending cupcakes for birthdays, bake sales, vending machines on campus, pizza parties, and much more. As some exceptions were made and as people learned the rules, it was better. For instance, the state now allows 3 exempt days where the school can have parties or celebrations.

It's generally tied to students and what food can be made available to them when. So for instance, because a child can come to muffins with mom or donuts for dad, the rules applied. Had it been a parent-only event, the rules would not apply.

But the key is learning about the restrictions and exactly what the policy is and how it applies.

The schools can lose serious funding if they allow the policy to be violated.

Our pricipal also told us a few months ago that we would have to come up with something other than Dads and Donuts due to the new nutritional regulations.

After much investigation, she did find out hat by ordering items through the cafeteria, we could still do Dads & Donuts (or Danishes) and Moms & Muffins. Since the cafeteria follows the minimum guidelines, this won't be a problem - it may cost a little more, but these events are important to us.

Have your princiapl check if this is a possibility for you guys - we thought that it was a lost cause until we did further investigation!

Oh - and we're in TX by the way!

I think it is so ridiculous that many schools are not allowed to offer treats to the children or have candy fundraisers. Having a treat several times a year in school doesn't contribute negatively to a child's health. A student's health should be monitored by that child's parents and doctor. These rules are making it harder for PTO's to earn money for their schools by having to change the way fundraising can be done. There is nothing wrong with having a piece of candy or a slice of pizza or a cookie once in a while. The funny thing here is that stopping candy and pizza and other treats in the school is not going to stop consumption at home, which is where children are learning bad habits in the first place!

Mommytlc - I'm not saying I disagree with you. Yes, of course, the parents should be responsible. But the flip side is that this country is looking at a healthcare crisis regarding climbing obesity rates and related diabetes in children. Then these issues increase costs of government programs and services. Plus we have the issue of its responsibility for its citizens welfare.

They introduced awareness and wellness programs into schools and nothing changed. So what next? Do they do nothing or implement restrictions? And will further restrictions help?

And there are 3 levels involved: federal, state, and school district. Again - I'm not arguing this the right thing to do, but at least they are trying. So for that reason, I'll be supportive and try to be more creative about how we can initiate programs that follow the rules but are still "fun".

Hi JHB -

I'm all for trying to promote wellness, but to me that has to include balance, moderation and common sense.

These over-the-top interpretations of the policies only create disdain for the effort. Big difference between having healthy options on cafeteria menu and outlawing pizza parties or (worse yet) outlawing fairly innocuous foods at parent-kid events.

I can support wellness policies, but I'll be a vocal critic of wellness policies that police everything just because they can.

"Everything in Moderation" is a good motto both for eating and health and for setting policies.

Tim

Ah, but who is doing the interpreting? You've got the federal policy. Then each state decides how it wants to implement - exactly as is or perhaps a bit tighter.

Then you have the local policy at the school district level - which again can be as delivered by the state or more strictly.

THEN you have the poor, overwhelemed principal/administrator/teacher trying to figure out yet another set of rules to enforce. This person may get an skewed explanation or totally misinterpret the real policy.

So then it comes to parents who fuss and complain. Perhaps deservedly so, but that alone doesn't help. It's up to us as PTO Leaders to keep a clear head, figure out the real situation, and work constructively towards change if that's what is needed. Yes, perhaps it would be nice if it had been different - but we have to deal with the current reality.

At the government level, I sympathize because writing policies like this is a no win situation. Leave too big a loophole and the policy is pointless. Make the rules too restrictive and that backfires as well.

At the school level, most districts have various committees these things go through. They beg for parent and community members to serve. But much of the work of such committees is tedious and boring. Develop policies? Yuk. So they do the best they can; no one objects during comment periods. Yet everyone hates it and complains when the policy is implemented.

I'm just saying it's not like some evil government official woke up one morning and decided to make all our lives miserable. These rules are in place. Let's see what they really mean, how we can support them, and how we can be a catalyst for change where needed.

Our district has had a wellness policy for the past three years, maybe four, and there are changes that have been eased in each year to help everyone come to grips with the realities. The first change that impacted our PTO was elimination of bake sales, which we only held three times a year anyway. We were financially healthy enough to survive without them. We have policies that restrict what children may bring into the classroom for birthday celebrations, but that doesn't affect the PTO. My son has a summer birthday so I'm not 100% sure what the rules are -- if I wanted to send in a treat I would definitely ask at the main office beforehand, to avoid a hassle.

That's my district in NJ. That said, regarding your events I don't know exactly how they work, but if you are providing muffins/donuts to *adults*only*, not to the students, the district shouldn't have any say in what is offered, IMO. The state regulations and policies should be intended for foods provided for the STUDENTS. Teachers can still get in the car at lunch and drive to Burger King if they want, and parents can even send food in a lunch box that isn't healthy. What our district works to avoid is anything on the school's lunch menu that has poor nutritional makeup (high fat/sugar, empty calories). No one is policing how much jelly is on my son's PB&J!

What I would do in your situation is to speak with the school nurse, principal, or district superintendent and ask whether the wellness policy prohibits offering treats to adults at meetings/events not open to students.

Good luck.

~ Liz