Danvers School Slush Fundraisers Set To Be Put On Ice

DANVERS, MA — School slush sales — a popular fundraiser at some Danvers elementary schools in recent years — appear to be headed to the deep freeze after all as a part of a revised district health and wellness policy.

The policy change away from the slush fundraisers, which drew a large public outcry among Parent Advisory Committee members at a School Committee meeting in June because of both their financial benefit to the schools and for what the parents said they bring to children as a fun part of the school day post-COVID-19, was proposed by Superintendent Dan Bauer and the School Wellness Subcommittee and was approved on a first read at Tuesday's full School Committee meeting.

Bauer said a meeting will be held with the PAC set for Oct. 3 to discuss alternative fundraisers. If approved at a second reading at the next Danvers School Committee meeting, the no-slush policy will go into effect for the 2023-24 school year.

"Certainly, with this process moving forward, we want to make sure that everybody understands the rationale (for the change) but also how can we move forward and really the appreciation for what PACs do for schools, and the importance of working together while also meeting the guidelines and meet the policy," Bauer said.

School Food Services Director Emily Cook brought forward the change in the spring because she said the slush did not meet the federal nutritional standards required by the USDA National School Lunch Program that keeps the district eligible for free and reduced lunch funding.

According to the proposed new policy: "All food brought to school except for home-brought lunch or snacks would have to meet the nutritional guidelines of the Department of Public Schools, as set by the USDA National School Lunch Program. The Director of Food Services and building principals will monitor these guidelines."

Furthermore, Bauer said that all food-related fundraisers would be prohibited during the regular school day — but would still be allowed after school.

"The big thing is that food fundraisers can't compete with the school lunch program," Bauer said. "That's the big piece of it."

School Committee Alice Campbell said the policy is not necessarily a war on slush — or "fun" for that matter — but a state and federal requirement that the school must follow. She said the policy is not a district judgment on slush, or ice cream, in comparison with any other food, but based on how the USDA judges those items.

"A lot of it comes down to state and federal guidelines that we don't have a lot of flexibility with," she said. "We've brought up the idea of still allowing students to have those fun activities during the day that they might have felt through slush, or ways for PACs to continue to fundraise."

Members of a Parents Advisory Council argued during public comment at the June meeting that sales of the slush, and other food items, raise about $4,000 each year that goes toward school culture and enrichment programs.

"It's a big hit for schools that depend on that fundraising that comes from ice cream or slush, or other fundraising activities that they've done, but I think the point is to find a collaborative solution around it," Campbell said.

School Committee member Gabe Lopes said those solutions should also be inclusive as well.

"We can still do a fundraiser and include every student regardless of need," Lopes said.

Per the proposed new district policy: "Danvers is committed to encouraging and modeling healthy eating habits, behaviors and lifestyles, as well as being a fair and equitable place for all students, regardless of socioeconomic status, food allergy, intolerance or disability and religious/cultural food practices."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)