With USDA Food and Nutrition services guidelines, East bake sales containing the typical baked goods have been left in 2024. 

“We are a part of the USDA’s school lunch program,” Craig Hatfield, Senior Director of Business Operations in Lakota told Spark.

Updated on the USDA website on November 13, 2024, under “Fundraisers and Foods Not Intended for Consumption at School”, the website provides that the school nutrition standards apply to any foods sold to students during the school day on the school campus, including foods sold as fundraisers.

Under the USDAs guidelines, typical sweet treats or baked goods would not meet requirements to be sold during school hours. 

To follow the guidelines, East bake sales would have to take place at 3:30pm, East Bursar Darolyn Harp told Spark. 

“Because of the timing of dismissal at 3:00pm, and the guidelines pushing bake sales to 3:30, I would say students probably need to pick something else as far as some type of other fundraiser,” said Harp.