Treats for Distribution to students...what Do You Think???

Probably because it doesn't have an ingredients list on it. My oldest daughter's school was the same way...they would only allow store bought goodies with an ingredients list on the package b/c so many kids have allergies to food items.

As everyone else has said, it isn't about where the cookies are baked, it's aout the packaging. If it's in a package from the grocery store with an ingredient label on it, the teachers can tell at a glance if there are eggs, nuts, or other allergens in them. This could be a huge problem for some students, and is likely why they require pre-packaged, and not just professionally/commercially made, goods.

If I understand correctly, the food needs to be pre-packages. I completely agree. You broke the rules. It doesn't appear that the issue is where the item came from.

A big part of why it needs to be packaged is so that the teachers don't have to waste class time cutting up and serving. It's also distracting and annoying to the classroom to have "special treats" show up unexpectedly. If it's prepackaged it can just be handed out at the end of the day or at lunchtime.

As a parent I always hated when food was given out at school. What if you give my kids cookies and when they get home I'm planning on giving them cookies? Most will say no big deal. However, when you have a child with health issues, it is a big deal.

While I do agree with Lola about the bringing treats from home bit, I think the school went overboard by not allowing treats that come from a professional work environment, like your husbands work kitchen. I mean, where does the school think the cookies from the store come from? Heaven? No! They are usually prepped and baked right there in the store bakery and packaged right there. I watch them do it at safeway all the time!

What makes a grocery chain's cookies any safer than a certified and credentialed bakery that is separate from where I buy my milk? Nothing! I'd petition to have the rules changed. Bring your husbands restaurant certifications, business cards and photos of him making the food in his clean professional kitchen.

I suppose if only machine made and packaged food is allowed then you're going to be relegated to bags of Doritos and Oreo cookies, which is a loss for the kids.

I own a bakery and my kids' school will not allow me to bring in cupcakes or cookies I prepared. I understand your frustration.

Why am I not allowed to bring them in? Because I run my bakery out of my home under Texas' Cottage laws. It doesn't matter that I am beyond careful and would never do anything to jeopardize my business. I can't do anything for my kids' schools.

Fantastic. More processed food.

So if the cookies were baked at a grocery store bakery they are also not allowed? Many grocery stores have professional kitchens that are watched, checked, and cited if need be by the health dept they are the same as a restaurant kitchen.

Your hubby has a professional kitchen regulated by the health department. Why is this so different than a cookie made at a commericial bakery.

This is insane.

I understand not wanting home baked goods. Some crazy parent might think it would be funny to make a batch of pot brownies for instance. Or if they are really off their nut put poison in something because they are mad at one child - parent or teacher. (Okay I need to get out more -- too many episodes of Criminal Minds) But I think you get my point.

our school has the same rule and i agree.
reason, and this is not directed at you, considering i don't know you, but i don't want my kids to eat things that people have prepared at home. i don't know who handled the stuff, if the hands were cleaned, if anyone was sick at the house etc.
why?
2 years ago (when the school still accepted homemade stuff), a parent brought treats made at home. a day later most of the kids were out due to stomach virus. later we found out, the child in that family had the virus, so all kids got it.

I think it is ridiculous. I also think it is ridiculous that mom can't send cookies she baked at home. If allergies are the concern, then a prepackaged snack can be provided for the child with the allergy. I would rather eat a fresh baked cookie from a moms kitchen then some prepackaged grocery store cookie chock full of preservatives!
Thank goodness this hasn't happened here!

The rule came about due to parents not knowing the condition of another parents home and possible cleanliness issues. Do you really want to risk your child eating food that might have been prepared in a kitchen full of maggots in the sink? Or roaches crawling around on the cabinet? Mice running around the back of the sink while they are rinsing the serving dish?

Seriously, you should want this rule in your school.

Your kitchen may be totally sanitary but 50% of the other parents may be nasty dirty people who don't know that you can't drop food on the floor where the dog poohed last week and then use it anyway.

The rule should read that food made at home should not be allowed, all food brought to the school should be purchased and in it's original sealed container when brought in the classroom. A restaurant has boxes or bags or containers they purchase to sell the take home food in. This is covered by their license. This is what makes them different that a home baked goody. The food is cooked, prepared and packaged in a licensed facility.

This busy body is wrong, or whomever typed up the rule, they do not know what the basis of the rule is or why and how it should be applied.

If they continue to say that he can't bake them goodies at the restaurant and donate them then you need to site that any licensed facility should be off limits and NO OUTSIDE food at ALL should be allowed. They they'll start rethinking this rule and make it read the way it is intended to read.
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Call the health inspector's department. If the food is cooked in a restaurant in an inspected licensed facility then it IS the same as if it came from a store. The food there is prepared to be sold to the public. I do believe this ruling is incorrect. If they can't serve it to children it can't be sold to the public. The health department can send a letter to the school admin office to notify them that it is a certified licensed kitchen. It is the same as if the parent went to the restaurant and purchased it. No different if the parent goes to Walmart and buys a cake or cupcakes in the bakery.

Wow, it's situations like this that make me glad our kids don't go to school in the U.S.

Well here is the thing: I don't agree with only offering store-bought foods - but as you said that is another discussion.

I know that schools do it for liability reasons because of food allergies. I assume that this is the case for your school as well. I don't know how the policy is worded, but in ours the food must come prepackaged AND contain an ingredient list with allergen information. If that is the issue then you can ask the principal if you can still bring properly packaged and labeled treats from your husbands work place (basically the same product they would sell to the public).
Fact is that even food that comes from a commercial kitchen can be contaminated with or contain allergens - using a commercial kitchen does not keep your DH from putting peanuts for example in the cookies... not that he would, but without proper labeling it's a liability issue.

Bottom line, I guess i agree with them, I think the snoopy lady that "told" on you was a little ridiculous.

Here is my thing though, if he is doing this at work, does he not have the ability to package it himself?????? That would totally solve the problem, I don't know how restaurants work but even the pizza places have boxes, right, and i would think if he was baking stuff all the more accessiblitiy to a white bakery box and a company logo sticker thing. AND a professional sticker listing ingredients.

From the school point of view, usually prepackages stuff is to avoid the Yucky unsanitary households, AND to indentify allergies.

now if your hubby wants to bake me a big cookie, I don't need a sticker, It sounds delish

Yeah, we aren't allowed to donate from our commercial kitchen either (we rent it for our pop up restaurant), and my husband also cooks professionally, is properly certified, the kitchen is inspected regularly, etc..., too (he didn't go to school but trained under a chef and works as a chef in a fine dining restaurant, although he doesn't like being called "chef" because he doesn't have the degree). I don't understand the distinction between commercially prepared food and store-bought packaged food regarding the safety of it. What a whiney sissy boo boo that teacher is, tattling like that to the principal about your generously-supplied cookie :( No, I don't like this policy.

Not only do I NOT like this rule, but I find it humerous that you can take homemade food in for the teachers and staff and it is ok. I think since it came from a professional kitchen with licensed food staff then it is no difference than doughnut shops and bakeries.

I can see why you don't like that they are enforcing the policy and I do feel bad, but I agree with the school.

The rule is that the food must come pre-packaged from a store. Your husband is baking in his professional kitchen, which to me, sounds no different than if someone were to walk into any bakery and pick food up there. For example, if someone owned a Mrs. Field's cookie franchise, their situation would be like yours. A professional chef baking in a professional kitchen, but NOT providing store bought, packaged treats.

I realize it's very different than a mom baking cookies at home, but it does violate the official school policy.

Sorry.

I'm sorry...you lost me at "my husband is a professional chef...". I'm so jealous :)

No, I don't agree with the school's decision but like you, I would also respect it. My friend works for Planned Parenthood - the doesn't give her the right to pass out condoms whenever she wanted, no matter her intentions.

It's a liability issue. They have to be sure that the bakery is certified in safety techniques and is inspected by the local board of health or, better, the FDA. If they favor certain parents who are "in the business" then they are accused of directing state and federal funds into one person's pocket.

I agree that it's a shame they are forcing the kids into prepackaged, processed food full of preservatives - I mean really, stuff that can sit on the shelves for months and even the cockroaches won't eat it?

But fear of litigation takes precedence in this society, unfortunately.

If his work kitchen is in your home and not a stand alone bakery business in a strip mall, etc. I can see the issue with the feeling it was "prepared at home"
However, if he is a baker with a kitchen at a place of business like a grocery store, or something like a Celebrity Bakery or Panera, I do not see the issue at all.
It is a stinky thing, though:(

Cookies are on our NO list no matter where they come from.

But I do get what they are saying/doing. I don't agree but I abide by the rules on this one. Unless it's pre-packaged sealed they don't really "know" where it was made. That might be what they are thinking.

I think that if his kitchen is outside of your home and he is regularly inspected by the health department (or whomever regulates), then it should be fine. If his kitchen is within your home, I can see your point.

Hi J.,

It's most likely a labeling issue. The school wants to ensure that teachers know what ingredients are in the treats so they can identify potential allergens and keep those things from the kids with allergies to those particular ingredients.

With that in mind, I see why the school does it. They can't put themselves in a position of second-guessing whether something might or might not have an allergen as a part of the ingredients.

Your intentions and generosity are wonderful, but if the school makes an exception for you, they not only put themselves at risk, but then they open themselves up to all of the other parents who want to be an exception to the rule too.

Try not to be too hurt about it. It's not a personal attack or rejection of your kindness. Just them trying to do what they're supposed to do---educate----without endangering anyone (allergic students, staff) and winding up in a lawsuit.

Best to you and your family,

J. F.

Our school has cut out all food other than lunch -- no snacks in the classrooms, even for kindergarteners. Last year, everything had to be prepackaged in individual portions. I would clarify from them what they mean, since the cookie is, in fact, coming from a professional bakery. It may be that it needs to be individually portioned rather than shared or that it has to have all ingredients labeled. Or they misunderstand where it's coming from.

There's a difference between prepackaged and simply being store bought. If they allow baked goods from a grocery store bakery, then I would be puzzled about this ruling and ask for further clarification. It makes no sense if your DH can't bake in his own work kitchen but someone else who works in a bakery or grocery store could swing by the counter and provide non-mass produced cookies. If they only allow things that were mass produced (Hostess, for example) then this makes sense. It may be that your DH is being caught up in something that was intended to stop the average person from baking in his/her kitchen that could be a questionable environment, or include things like peanuts which can be dangerous to some kids.

However, since you are being asked to stop, you can tell the room mothers that per the principal, you are no longer allowed to do this, even though the items are produced in a professional kitchen.

I've heard that some organizations won't allow people off the street to prepare food. They have to be a "certified food handler" and I'm guessing that your school's rule is a version of the "food handler" rule. If it's prepackaged, then everyone can be reasonably assured that it was handled by someone trained and certified in food handling. Is your husband a "certified food handler"? You could fight it on this basis. I mean, what's the difference between your husband's work, professional kitchen and the grocery store kitchen?

Or you could let it go, resign yourself to this silly rule, the purpose of which is most likely designed to lessen the school's risk of being sued when some kid gets sick.

I hope that everyone can calm down a little and try to understand the reasons for this rule in the schools... Many, many kids have allergies these days. Many of these allergies are LIFE THREATENING. It's not a joke. A child could DIE if they accidentally eat a nut or another allergen. Commercially packaged food is required by the FDA to have an ingredient label listing all of the items included in the recipe... That is why they school requires commerically packaged food.

I too am one of those moms who loves to make precious, hand decorated cupcakes for my kids and their classes. It makes me really sad that I can't any longer. But, I understand why, because my daughter has scary, serious allergies! And there is a little boy in her class who has them even worse than she does. So, I was the mom who always made the cupcakes for the school parties, so my daughter would be able to eat them. And I provided special snacks for my daughter for the occasions when other homemade treats were brought into the classroom. But, although every parent was asked at the beginning of the year not to bring any type of food containing nuts into the classroom, there was always that "one" mom who sent her daughter in with Nutella for a snack every single day. Pretty obvious that there are NUTS in a product named "NUTella", huh? So no matter what I did to try to protect her, I can never know what another parent might do. And, although my daughter is so careful about what she eats, not every kid is able to police themselves like she does. And not every parent is going to follow the rules. (Even her own GRANDMOTHER gave her a small piece of a cashew when she was a toddler because she figured we were being "overprotective" with all our rules about her food. My daughter ended up in the emergancy room in anaphalactic shock!)

So, although most parents aren't selfish like the Nutella mom, there are still major concerns. Did you know that many cooking extracts can contain real nuts? And that different frostings and toppings can contain nut extracts or nut butters? All being impossible to detect until eaten... Even I make scary mistakes sometimes... The only way to know what is in the food is by reading the label on the package. So kudos to the schools for protecting our babies so carefully! And they're not doing this so they won't get sued... They made these changes because a little girl DIED last year...

And, please don't respond telling me how kids with dangerous food allergies should be home schooled, or should all be put in one special classroom together, or should just be left out of everything the other kids get to do.... Would you say that if the child was in a wheelchair or had another visible physical disability? Of course not! Food allergies are a disability and they are scary and are in epidemic numbers in children now.

Also, I don't know if you've ever seen a pet hoarders house, but I know a woman who used to bake beautiful wedding cakes as a business... The big secret was her house was overrun with feral cats! She would simply buy bags of kitty litter and cat food and pour them directly onto her living room floor. There were at least 45 cats removed when her house was finally condemned. She seemed like a normal, well groomed lady and she had lots of cake orders all the time. I couldn't believe it when I found out the condition of her home. YUCK!

So, instead of getting angry at the principle or the teachers, who have nothing to do with the rule the school districts have adopted... THANK THEM for all they do to help keep your kids safe and sound, as they work hard to do everyday!

And, remember, we wish our kids didn't have these horrible, dangerous allergies way worse than you ever will when your child isn't allowed to have peanut butter and jelly in their lunch!

Sincerely,

A sad, no-longer-cupcake-diva mommy...

Is it coming int he package that the professional kitchen would sell it in (sealed bakery box, commercial film wrap, etc)? It so, there should be no problem with it complying with the rules unless the rules do not allow bakery items or donuts that do not come in shrink wrap.

If it is not packaged in commercial packaging, then it is the same as homemade regardless of location where it was prepared. You wouldn't have ingredient labels, allergy notifications, nutritional info, etc. Plus, any liability in case of some form of food poisoning would not go back to the commercial establishent.

My daughter's school does not allow ANY outside food to be brought into the school, so even prepackaged food isn't an option. I also would like to treat the teachers and kids, but it isn't in compliance with the rules. If you are not 100% in compliance with the rules (not just baked commercially but packaged commercially in packaging that conforms to the rules), then the school is right to notify you that they must comply to their rules.