This past year, a new California law that prohibited the sale of sodas, chocolate, chips, and other junk food went into effect and was to begin for the 2006-07 academic year. The law was welcomed by many to be one way to remedy the growing problem of childhood obesity, but for students of schools, it was seen as another problem that they have to deal with.
While childhood obesity is a problem, underfunded schools is another problem whose solution could very well help solve the obesity problem. Because of the new ban on what is essentially fundraising food for extra-curricular activities, schools have little fundraising alternatives left to them. At my school for example, we are now limited to car-washes as a main fundraiser, and for dozens of active, money-starved clubs, the idea of holding a car wash opposite another club's car wash diminishes profits. There is a loop-hole that allows the sale of select candy bars that are "California Approved" because of their alleged nutritious content determined by some esoteric equation that relates the amount of nuts to the amount of chocolate in the candy bar, but those are few and far in between, and the arts, sports, and clubs continue to suffer. Read More »
