Health Commissioner: City Not Cracking Down On Bake Sales
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Philadelphia's Health Commissioner assured worried city council members that inspectors have no plans to crack down on church or school bake sales.
Deputy Mayor and Health Commissioner Donald Schwarz was testifying about the upcoming budget when Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown brought up bake sales. She pointed out that the city code technically requires such food to be prepared in a kitchen that's been licensed and inspected.
"For parents who want to bake to raise money for their kids' programming, where do we find some middle ground for them?"
Schwartz said, "We're not inspecting people's homes for bake sales. So, if schools wish to have bake sales, they can."
But Schwarz said the bigger concern is that the bake sales offer healthy choices -- not just brownies and cookies -- as the Health Departments works to combat childhood obesity.
