[October 15, 2014]

Healthy Fundraising Solutions Fills Void Left in School Fundraising Efforts Resulting from Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

The "Michelle Obama Rules" that you keep hearing about are actually the regulations that have been codified by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, an act intended, in part, to provide all children with healthy food in schools. It's also known as Smart Snacks in School and, rather than feeling "smart," many school leaders are in a panic over how to hold successful fundraisers in light of these healthy changes. As a result of the act, traditional on-campus chocolate bar fundraising sales are over, and so, they fear, is a significant source of money for school programs. Football teams, bands, key clubs, and other campus groups used to have the potential to raise $6,000 in a week through chocolate and candy bar fundraising sales. In many cases, this provided a majority of funds required for school trips, tournaments and team uniforms.

As some of these high schools and middle schools could face a potential shortfall of up to $90,000, the prognosis for the 2014-2015 school year is understandably grim. This worry is completely unnecessarythanks to Healthy Fundraising Solutions (http://healthyfundraisingsolutions.com/). Healthy Fundraising Solutions offers fundraising snack packs like Cal Pak which meet the new nutrition standards. These packs contain snacks from Frito Lay like reduced-fat Doritos, Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Fantastix, Strawberry Pop Tarts from Kellogg's, as well as bakery items like chocolate chip cookies.

The Cal Pak and other healthy snack options offered by Healthy Fundraising Solutions can be sold on-campus, during school hours, which is the key component. Every snack is no more than 200 calories, 200 mg of sodium and contains no trans-fat. Additionally, the snacks are no more than 35% fat or sugar, and no more than 10% saturated fat, and school groups all over the country are responding. "We knew July 1 (date of the regulations implementation) would be big, but we didn't anticipate such an enthusiastic response," stated company president Brad Dodge. While some critics say Healthy Fundraising Solutions has simply found a loophole in the system, Dodge counters, "We're not selling carrots and celery because they wouldn't sell, but the snacks we're providing have far less fat and sugar than honey buns and chocolate bars, and they meet the regulations."

Fundraising can still be done on-campus exactly the way it existed before the first lady weighed in on the weight of the nation's children. Students can still go around campus carrying boxes of snacks to sell to their fellow students to raise money for trips and uniforms. Their boxes will just contain snacks which are a little different from the ones sold last year. It may not make as good a story for the Drudge Report and Michelle Obama critics, but it will help student groups stay on task and fund their projects.

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