First some background info:

Every Wednesday, all through the school a set of rolling carts used to be heard as they moved from hallway to hallway. On the carts were a selection of baked goods that had been prepared, in school, by a dedicated group of staff members and an ever eager group of students. These students represented the special needs/education students at Masuk. The would effectively have a bake sale in order to raise funds for supplies and trips that these kids participated in. Besides the money, though, this program was an outstanding teaching opportunity for these children. Not only did it teach responsibility and hard work through the sale of the goods that they worked to make it also taught self-confidence and boosted social interaction for all parties.

After a new policy came into effect, (which banned all foods, that were to be shared with students other than the one who brought them in, that are not in original packaging and/or were prepared at home) the coffee cart was soon disbanded with minimal explanation other than a violation of the new policy and a policy regarding healthy food choices.

Cited-"School celebrations, that distribute food and beverage that follow the healthy snack list including whole fruits and vegetables1 may occur at the discretion of the principal. Only foods in their original packaging are permitted. No home prepared foods will be allowed. A list of many non-food alternatives will be available in each of the district's schools. Foods may be limited based upon allergen content.(BOE POLICY-6142.101)"

Unfortunately there is no basis for this argument as the coffee cart program is not a "School celebration" nor are the items, "home prepared foods." They are actually prepared in school, just like the culinary class, and have trained adults who help keep everyone safe and clean through the process.

Allegedly, the second reason that our school has eliminated the program is the so-called "sale of minimally nutrition foods." 

This is fine, if the policy forbade it, which it does not.

Cited-

"[In regards to the National School Lunch Program] The sale of minimally nutritious foods, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, during the school day is prohibited.

The sale of minimally nutritious foods, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is permitted in non-food service areas during the school day.(BOE POLICY-3542.33"

The policy explicitly creates a caveat for this sort of purpose!

Also, it is hard to call the rice crispies and cookies the coffee cart sells "minimally nutritious" when the school cafeteria sells the same sort of products, ie: rice crispies and cookies.

As you can see the Coffee Cart program served a bigger purpose than to bring snacks to students in the middle of the day. It taught hard work responsibility, and self-confidence as well as raised money for the further enjoyment and teachings of the special education sector of Masuk High School. For these reasons, we believe that the Coffee Cart program should be reinstated as a learning opportunity for our friends down in D Hall.