Fluffernutter Sandwich Angers Mass. Senator

Fluffernutter Sandwich Angers Mass. Senator
By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

(06-20) 14:49 PDT BOSTON, (AP) --

snip...
Now, the beloved Fluffernutter sandwich — the irresistible combination of Marshmallow Fluff and peanut butter, preferably on white bread with a glass of milk handy — finds itself at the center of a sticky political debate.

Sen. Jarrett Barrios was outraged that his son Nathaniel, a third-grader, was given a Fluffernutter sandwich at the King Open School in Cambridge. He said he plans to file legislation that would ban schools from offering the local delicacy more than once a week as the main meal of the day.

The Democrat said that his amendment to a bill on junk food in schools may seem "a little silly" — but that school nutrition is s0erious.

His proposal seemed anything but silly to Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein, a Democrat whose district in Revere is near the company that has produced the marshmallow concoction for more than 80 years, Durkee-Mower Inc.

She responded with a proposal to designate the Fluffernutter the "official sandwich of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2006/06/20/national/a144904D99.DTL



:eyes:

:evilgrin:

I thought we weren't supposed to talk about the male republicon prostitute who -- according to the official Bush White House Secret Service records, visited the Bush White House 200 times, with lots of suspicious overnights.

Please don't mention the Bush White House male prostitute again. It is so embarassing to the Family Values Republicons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Gannon

I don't see why all school lunchs should be nutritious and decent quality.

In fact, why not locally grown and organic. The kids are worth it.

...and in my opinion, more than any other substance introduced into the American diet on a mass market level over the last 20 years, corn syrup is responsible for the twin epidemics of diabetes II and obesity. For schools to serve globs of that poison to children is nothing short of criminal. Would they dare serve Crisco sandwiches? Marshmallow fluff is just as bad.

I can see it as an afternoon snack when you get home from school. Lunch? Ridiculous.

I bet this company that makes it paid somebody to put it on the menu.

Corn syrup and horse hooves; that's some nasty stuff.

I look at labels in an effort to keep corn syrup out of my family's diet, and it's in damn near everything. Bread is a typical culprit. There's one variety of Oroweat bread--the Honey-Whole Grain, I think--that excludes it but, if not for Trader Joe's bread, that would be about the only choice.

But it is still a "Yuck" to me too.

But it is still a "Yuck" to me too.

And they're not horse hooves, they're animal bones. Horses and cows and pigs. According to the law, you're supposed to deposit all hooved animals' lower legs in a tank of creosote after slaughter, to prevent the spread of some weird farm disease to humans.

I'm not sure WHICH weird farm disease, but apparently the gelatin makers were pissed when this went into effect because the lower legs make very good gelatin.

:shrug: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat:

It's cheaper to use algae. I think they still use horse hooves for some specialty gelatin items though.

Do you know if they are an animal product still?

From the Fluff website: corn syrup, sugar syrup, vanilla flavoring and egg white. That's it.

It still sounds like nasty stuff to me.

Gelatin and egg whites are both emulsifiers--the shit on the Fluff website about how their product contains no emulsifiers is clearly a crock, since egg whites ARE emulsifiers--but the disadvantage of using gelatin in this recipe is that the Fluff would get hard, which isn't what they want.

They still shouldn't be feeding it to kids as the entree in their school lunches. Dessert? Okay. I can see that. You can make things from Fluff, like Rice Krispies Treats, that are good as desserts. But not as the main part of the lunch.

Y'know, this is kinda funny, actually. Hyperactivity in children is said to be a Major Discipline Problem in schools. "Here ya go, kid, have a quarter-cup of sugar."

why should we pretend marshmallow creme and peanut butter is a healthy main course. The legislation limits it to once a week. Hardly seems unreasonable.

And I think organic and locally grown is a great idea. But the party that pretends to be "for the children" would never allow it--can't be spending that kind of cash on education.

The schools here would never serve Peanut Butter.....

What the hell is any school thinking feeding marshmallow sandwiches to kids?
:wtf:

I don't care if it's a local favorite. You don't feed kids sugar and gelatin sandwiches as part of a school nutrition program. Someone should loose their job for shit like this.

"sugar and gelatin sandwiches". gag x( :hi:

That's where it gets the spackle like consistency. The "marshmallow" in Marshmallow Fluff isn't meant to be taken literally, like the raspberries in Raspberry Fluff.

:rofl:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/06/20/battle_of_the_fluffernutter_roils_beacon_hill/

snip-->
The day after Barrios announced his amendment, Reinstein fired off
an e-mail announcing her own legislation designating the Fluffernutter
the "official sandwich of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

"I believe we need to preserve the legacy of this local delicacy,"
Reinstein wrote in the letter to fellow lawmakers.
She noted Fluff is free of artificial preservatives or colorings.

In an interview, Reinstein said she felt the need to defend the honor of Fluff,
protect the rights of parents, and protect a local company.

"I'm going to fight to the death for Fluff," Reinstein said. "It's out of control.
It's ridiculous that with all the things going on in the state and in the world,
we're having this conversation. It's insane."

On Tuesday, an aide to Barrios said the senator is not anti-Fluff.
He said Barrios plans to sign on as a co-sponsor to Reinstein's bill,
although he still believes schools should ration Fluffernutters to one per week.

"He loves Fluff as much as the next legislator," said Barrios aide Colin Durrant.

The wrangling over Fluff is part of a stalled debate over a bill that would limit
the sale of junk food in public schools in Massachusetts. <--Snip

===========================

I LOVE fluffer-nutters!!! They are really good!!
:loveya:

Salute to Fluff
Durkee-Mower, Inc. in Lynn has been producing Marshmallow Fluff since 1920.


Todd Goodwin watches over as containers of Fluff move along the conveyor belt
in Durkee-Mower's Lynn factory. The company has 21 employees.


An early Fluff container, from 1935.
In the 1930s the company launched a radio show, The Flufferettes.
Then came a cookbook, The Yummy Book, an update version
of which is available on the company's website, at www.marshmallowfluff.com.
It comes in strawberry and raspberry flavors too!

===========================================

And the school(s) only serve them, as an alternative, a few times a month.
It's better than the kid going hungry for the rest of the day, imho!

:rofl:

:rofl:

That is candy for lunch. Who the hell thinks that is OK for a child's MEAL?

It was probably the least healthy thing I've "experimented" with and I've done a lot of stuff. Somehow, this "food" was really popular with everyone but me. I took one bite and totally forced myself to swallow it. My friends called me Un-American. Apparently, they all grew up on Fluffernutter sandwiches and had no idea how I managed to not try one until I was 19.

of course, as a kid, I ate Pb, honey, and cheese sandwiches 5 times a week if I could.

:P

it's very tasty.

My ex always puts grape jelly on his grilled cheese sandwiches, I thought that was pretty gross, till I tried it. yummy!

:P

...it's concern about kids being fed junk food in school.

I think his concern is valid.

Gave me the creeps. It is an odd school lunch unless their Mother did it for them.My kids liked it after they ate, about the time you got the dishes done and put away. and you wanted to check their homework.

And wouldn't ya know, marshnallow fluff happens to be made in that very same congressional district?

Did the fluff-people buy-off their congressman?

And boo-hoo... Barious wants to end the sweet deal the fluff guys have with the school system.

http://www.healthyschoollunches.org/reports/report2001_summary.html

2001 School Lunch Report

snip-->
Commodity Foods Utilized

* The five most common foods ordered among the 12 school districts surveyed were:

1. ground beef
2. chicken (either nuggets or patties)
3. cheese
4. canned fruit
5. flour

* Three of these top five foods are high in fat and cholesterol. <--snip

http://www.healthyschoollunches.org/reports/report2004_card.html

No?

chicken nuggets are really high in fat (deep fried) and so is the 'burger.
I was just making a comparison.
Most schools serve that list of items daily but they don't serve FN's all the time!
It's occasional.

;)

We don't have fryers in any of our schools here.

We do serve PBJ as an alternative choice if the kids don't like the two main choices. But we may be pulling that out because of peanut allergies. We also offer cheese sandwiches.

We have to calculate the nutrition content of everything - over the course of a week, we can't exceed 33% fat. That's a federal reg. It's difficult when we're required to offer 2% milk with every meal.

Just hoping to get some facts into the conversation - a lot of people have misconceptions about school lunch.

local school lunch menu.

http://www.franklin.ma.us/auto/schools/FPS/lunchprogram/menus/june/default.htm

They calculate the nutrition value at ALL schools!
That isn't unique. It's federal mandate, I believe.

The kid in the OP's post had ONE sandwich! People really need to get a grip!
JMO though...

When my youngest son was younger, I called the school lunch mgr. and asked her to keep an eye on my son.
He was into a lot of cheese and it wasn't a good thing. They did and he chilled!
Now he will go BUY a salad instead of a sub or McDonald's!
I made my kids bag lunches also.
I wasn't a worry wart and he's not fat nor are my other two son's!

Once in awhile isn't a bad thing at all. Total deprivation is, imo.

to aim for when feeding kids lunches. There are two different issues: kids going hungry and obese kids. I've heard that one of the reasons that cafeteria food is traditionally so calorie-rich is that those in charge were concerned about making sure that poor kids (who got lunch for free) would get by even if they were not able to get meals at home. Of course, if kids who get two other meals each day are fed as though it's the only time they eat.

serving a meal and having an alternative available.
As in, one or two things are on the menu, as LUNCH!
PBJ's and PBF's are an alternative if the kid hates everything on the menu.
And the schools, I'm sure and actually I know, also have salad and milk and fruit available.
Sometimes kids are finicky! (sp?) Ya know? That's life. Not everyone is the same, everyday.
Get over it. (and I mean that in the nicest way!) ;)

with a slathering of melted chocolate? Then you could have a s'mores pb sandwich. Jeez, the stuff we ate when we were kids. We survived. Did you ever eat a real mud pie with field corn decorations? Made with water fresh from the rain barrel, too. That sandwich sounds like a treat, but it has a heck of a lot less fiber than a mud pie.

To make a great "Fluffernutter" sandwich...

1.) Get two pieces of bread

2.)Smear one piece with peanut butter (makes no difference whether it's crunchy or smooth)

3.) Put the other piece of bread on a styrofoam plate and cover the top with the little marshmallows by the coffee machine.

4.)Microwave the slice with the marshmallows for about fifteen seconds or until you see the marshmallows start to rise.

5.) Remove the slice from the microwave, slap the two together, and Viola!
Might wanna let it cool for a couple minutes....But it seriously tastes great!

Or add banana's or milk chocolate! MMmmm good! ;)

:rofl:

http://steves2cents.blogspot.com/2005/11/fluffernutter-sandwiches-over-time.html

I've never even heard of it, but neither this or a PBJ is an acceptable school lunch. I'm not even all that fussy about school lunches, chocolate milk and cookies can be included. But the main serving shouldn't contain sugar, we can do better than that. I bet the peanut butter was loaded up with sugar too. Then we ask why Johnnie can't read. He's either on a sugar high or a sugar crash between the cereal for breakfast and the fluffernutter lunch. We're really sort of a sorry generation of adults that we can't figure out some pretty basic stuff like this.

Deliberately feeding kids a high-sugar diet has very predictable results.

We are not yeast. We were not meant to eat vast quantities of sugar. Sugar should occur naturally in fruits, and only sparingly anyplace else.

Sounds like a sugar bomb to me.

Our school district changed nutrition requirements for school lunches last year. No more fried anything, fresh fruits and veggies offered with every meal, and they got rid of that nasty yellow fake cheese sauce the kids were putting on everything. The kids whined for a while, and the lunchroom managers mourned the loss of income from the sale of "extras" (junk food).

The school system hung tough and nobody has starved to death yet.

From the article. Whether it's a GOOD choice is debatable. But do you really think we need a LAW forbidding Fluff? Why not just let the community decide?

it doesn't allow it more than once a week as a main meal. I don't see what the problem is with that.

It was an option for kids who didn't LIKE the main meal. That is being reported incorrectly in the paper articles. My food service director knows the director there.

The problem is that when you start to pass laws forbidding specific foods, where does it end? Is jelly next? Desserts of any kind? How come we adults can eat them? Can't someone just talk to the school and say, "You know, Fluff has no nutritional value whatsoever. How about cutting it down?" I just don't see why everything has to be *legislated* because of one school's stupid mistake.

And before people go ranting about how schools have to be forced to do anything, I can tell you that our school nutrition council has set guidelines for what we serve in vending machines, they review the school menus and come up with changes, they tell us what we can sell for ala carte items and even at sporting events with the Booster Club. So yes, we do listen to the community.

I just hate it when articles like this get in the news, because I hate having my schools' food services run into the mud because of something someone did in Massachussetts. I know my people work hard to serve things that are nutritious, balanced with what kids will actually EAT. And we do it all on this ridiculous federal reimbursement of $2.32 per lunch. That has to pay - not only for the food - but for the labor and equipment purchases.

Sorry - rant off.

but feel free to keep munching on that marshmallow-cream-covered red herring :)

For what it's worth, props to all those who work in education food service, and I don't think this news article reflects poorly on your service at all. :thumbsup:

Pure sugar!

Seriously, I don't think fluffernutters are epedemic in New England schools. I guess you have to be from here to appreciate them lol.

peanuts are goooooood for you!

Big difference.

(6.6 g saturated fat), 623 calories, 57.9 g carbohydrate, 23.2 g protein.

But some schools (in the same congressional district as the manufacturer) were serving it EVERY DAY.

:shrug:

:rofl:

Welcome to DU :hi:

I think they offer it as an alternative so if on a certain day they have two things you don't like you may choose PBF/PBJ. I've never heard of a parent who would allow their child to choose PBF/PBJ every day. It needs to be there every day for others to have the occasional choice. The parents need to regulate this. It is wasteful of our elected officials to use tax dollars and time on an issue any parent can solve easily. Sure, lets make some more stupid laws and take away choice. Its for our own good doncha know!

Making a law forbidding Fluff? That's just dopey.

Why? I don't get it. They can't put other choices as alternatives?

Also, how much control do the parents really have over what their children choose? (I don't think my parents would've had any enforcement mechanism to regulate my choices at the school cafeteria, but maybe things are different now/there, I don't know ...)

Normally a very smart guy, wtf is he thinking??? What a huge waste of time.

... HIS kid chose a fluffer-nutter for lunch!! OMG!! :wow:

Stop the legislature!! Stop everything!!
HIS kid, actually chose something different!! :nopity: What a f**king control freak!
He wasn't very concerned about this in September, was he??
:shrug:

Most kids don't eat that everyday anyway!

Wait until his kid gets to high school and they serve PIZZA every day!! OMG!!
He'll probably have a heart attack!
:rofl:

========================

Edited to add: BOSTON GLOBE

http://www.americaspromise.org/media/newsdetail.cfm?artID=638

OP-ED; TEENS PLEAD FOR SUMMER JOBS

BY ROBERT M. COARD

LAST WEEK 10 Boston public school students came together at ABCD University High School to talk
about the worsening street violence in their neighborhoods and how it affects their lives.
They came to talk about what they anticipate this summer and, most importantly, what they fear.
Snip-->
The safety of our neighborhoods has deteriorated. The murder rate in Boston is at a 10-year high,
with 75 homicides in 2005 and more than 20 so far this year.
Police predict heightened violence during summer when more people are on the streets.
A third of last year's murders were committed in June, July, and August.

MORE...

===============

You'd think he'd be spending a little more time on REAL problems!
:shrug:

It's his kid so it warrants immediate response from the legislature.

If it was a constituent writing him with the same complaint, that person would more than likely get a simple "Thank you for your concern..." form letter from an intern.

Like I asked. Where was he in September? :shrug:

must be a lot of unfinished business to wrap up and someone wants to waste time with this nonsense.

:D

i'm wholesome and nutritious enough. in fact, i provide the whole daily allotment of sugar and fat in one convenient package! why just look at the food pyramid. see that itty bitty top part there? yeah, i fill that need. :9 and most of your brats -- er, lovable, spunky children -- are barely eating anything anyways, running off of sunlight. this provides them more energy to power our kinetic energy generators. (...well, that and whips, er, oh, wait... we haven't instituted stage 3 yet? why hasn't the lab informed me? you'd think my abbatoir of energy generation would be done by now? what's so bloody hard about industrial strength treadmills? kids running like hamsters in a wheel would be a huge source of energy generation for my future Engines of Doom (TM). oh poo... i hate delays.)

anywho, think of the nutritious peanut butter and flour, and ... uh, agitated sugar, they're getting. this way they won't pass out after you shuttle them between all their needless after school activities, slowly draining the earth's precious resources in a sad, silent scream as you fret over pablum like this... oh sorry, trailing off there a bit. so yeah, be grateful your children are eating; under Reagan they'd be lucky to be sucking down ketchup packets, right? ;)

with love, your soon-to-be state sandwich, (who has state sandwiches nowadays? it's about as lame as state songs that no one could possibly remember or care about... oh well, no accounting for taste), and with luck your future cruel overlord,

Nutty Fluffers, grand high poobah of the delectable marshmallow spread treat

to have it. It's certainly not food, and shouldn't be represented as such. (And we're no food prudes, and we all have way too much of a sweet tooth, too. But FLUFF? No.)

:rofl:

No S'mores either? Popsicles? Candy canes? Soda? Koolaid? Birthday cake? Ice Cream?

EVER?????

:evilgrin:

Popsicles all the time, candy, sure thing. I couldn't live without ice cream, personally. (And who would really want to?)

But Fluff? ICK! Nasty stuff. Nope, I won't buy it.

And I do think the school's lunches should be more focused on nutrition. Fluff as a sandwich reminds me of ketchup as a vegetable.

Pass the M&Ms, please...

With marshmallow topping and Jimmies? Ever? C'mon! Confess! :rofl:

Toasted marshmallows over a fire? EVER?? Over the Bar-B-Que?

Sometimes little people just need a break!

I say, "Give them one!" :)

Just think of the money you'll save in therapy!

:rofl:

I see that marshmallow stuff on the sundae and think: what a waste of perfectly good hot fudge space...

My kid, like lots of little ones these days, loves all those "fruit" flavored candies, like Starburst, and Skittles.

I don't get it. If it's not chocolate, why bother?

No, no fears. Mine get way too much sugar. Like most of ours, I suspect! I'm not disciplined enough to be tough on all that most days!

Why should that be the main course more than once a week? I'm all for making school lunches more nutritious, and any district that serves peanut butter and marshmallow cream as their main meal twice a week is not serving their students well.

That's called Dinner! ;)

and if that's a fluffernutter two or more times a week, that's pretty bad.

But I should have said "main food," as I did elsewhere (even though dinner is the main meal, which is not the same as main course :P)

good old-fashioned shit-on-a-shingle lunches like any American school lunchroom! ;)

This is an 'alternative', once in awhile thing! gheesh!

They also serve milk and salad and fruit and what have you!

The kid ate one friggin' sandwhich, for cryin' out loud!

You know what? There's an old saying;

"You have to eat a pound of dirt before you die!"

I think the kid will survive!

In that same school district there are a lot of shootings and drug dealers too!
Why isn't he as outraged about that?

I agree lunches should be nutritious but we ALL break the diet, at some point,
and anyone who says they don't is a liar!

If the kid is a rolly-polly, then the Dad should call the lunch room manager
and have a heart to heart! Or make a bag lunch for the kid! Simple!

completely. According to the article, anyway.

What exactly is wrong with that?

You say "This is an 'alternative', once in awhile thing! gheesh!," but really his ammendment is trying to make sure it is a once in a while thing, rather than an everyday thing. He's not keeping anybody from their peanut butter/marshmallow fluff sandwiches. Frankly, I don't understand the opposition. Perhaps someone could explain to me why the schools should provide students with marshmallow cream/peanut butter sandwiches on a daily basis. Or even mroe than once a week.

I don't give a rats ass. The school provides it as an alternative.
In other words, it's there, if a kid doesn't like anything on the menu.
That's all this is about. He's the one making a stink, of sorts.
I don't have kids in grade school anymore, ty!
I don't really care if a kid wants a PBF or a PBJ or mac & cheese!
One lunch won't kill them. That's all I'm saying.
He has a lot of really nasty problems to work on here in MA and I think,
from what I've read about this one in particular,
that there are definately bigger fish to fry or 'on his plate', no pun intended.
He's had all year to freak out about this but he waits until the last week of school.
Now that's fluff!
;)

:shrug:

Maybe there are bigger fish to fry. Who knows, maybe he's working on those, too.

:)

I'm sure the lunchroom can keep track of that. After all, the kids
have 'lunch cards' with their $ and available lunches 'credited' on them.
Just like a credit card!
;)
But he's making much ado about nothing, imho.
It's really up to the parents, isn't it?
:shrug:

I doubt parents have a huge influence on the current policy, but who knows. Anyway, if a parent really wants their kid to have a fluffernutter, they can probably pack them a lunch. Hell, in many schools across the country, that's what the "alternative" is--pack your own lunch. It works well. So it still is, after all, up to the parents. Even if the senator gets his way.

They have PBJ and PBF. Probably baloney, for all I know about that school(s).
I think you're getting a little obsessed over this...
I thought the whole damn thing was funny and ridiculous, actually!
School Lunch Rm Mgr's. are very friendly, usually, and probably have kids themselves.
There are ways to limit kids in the lunchroom. I know, I've done it.
Takes parental involvement. He should talk to his kids' school, about HIS kid.
Parent's can't be there 24/7. That's just a fact of life.
I think he may have some 'control' issues. But that's jmo.

I think school lunches are actually a pretty worthwhile concern, and I've yet to see a reason why schools need to offer fluffernutters on a daily basis.

Obsessed? Whatever. You're the one who keeps responding :rofl:;)

(edit: spelling)

It's a staple in NM, and possibly other school districts.

Recipe: A handful of Fritos
A scoop of chile
a smattering of cheese


Frito Pie is Delicious, but has very little nutritional value.

A 'Fluffernutter' has SIGNIFICANTLY less value....and the amt. of corn syrup..eewww!!!!

just the thought of that makes my teeth hurt. x(