If you or someone you know has kids then I can pretty much guarantee you’ve been asked to buy some chocolate to help with fundraising for the local school or sports club at some stage. And by ‘asked’ I mean subtly ‘coerced.’

Children across the nation are sent home with boxes of chocolates every year and hearts filled with hope that mum and dad will agree to just pop the $50 into the envelope provided and that the treasure box of joy will sit firmly on the kitchen bench to be devoured little by little every night.

Look I know sending home chocolate sends mixed messages to our kids when we’re trying to help promote healthy eating and combat obesity but can we just for one split second think about someone else in this equation? Me! Yes me!

As president of my kid’s Parents and Friends Association at school I know the struggle to raise money is real! We have done just about everything – bake sales, lunch days, sausage sizzles, free dress days and even a wine bar!! No prizes for guessing which of the above kept 99% of parents happy!

But one surefire way to make everyone smile is to send home a good old box of fundraising chocolate. Sure parents will pretend to be annoyed at having ALL that chocolate to get rid of but I can guarantee you give the parents a choice of whipping up a costume for Book Week or selling some Freddo’s and the chocolate will win every time!

But all that could soon become just a distant memory.  Just over a week ago the Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of NSW submitted a recommendation to a NSW upper house parliamentary inquiry into the childhood obesity epidemic. The P & C Association came up with a variety of ideas with one of them being…GASP… focusing on healthier options for food-based fund raising!!

“Schools and P & C Associations can reconsider the fundraising. Currently, many food-based fundraising involves unhealthy foods (chocolates, doughnuts etc). Many P & C Associations are now more focused on healthy options or fundraising that is removed from food-centred approaches. These include a walk-a-thon, Olympic-type events and other outdoor activities. Selling plants is an alternative to selling chocolates.”

OH EMM GEE! Really? One box of chocolate obesity does not create! I’m all for healthy living and smart food choices but can we please just hold some things sacred? Just like parties need party food so do fundraising committees need their fundraising chocolates!

Hands off our Freddos!!