Bake sales

Churches and scout groups would be hit hard.

So would groups raising funds for someone who is sick.

It would change many of our lives, and successfully put the clamps down on what has become a long-time tradition.

We all support neighborhood bake sales. Same goes for chicken barbecues, fish fries and other charitable food sales. It's a great way for individuals and groups to raise money for charities, while at the same time getting people involved in the fund-raising projects.

But this way of life almost became a thing of the past in Pennsylvania.

Last spring, at St. Cecilia's Church near Pittsburgh, church members were having a fundraiser that involved homemade foods. A state food safety inspector made an appearance and told the volunteers that what they were doing was illegal. The crime? They were selling baked goods made in an unlicensed kitchen.

The uproar could be heard throughout the Commonwealth. Because what was going on at St. Cecilia's Church was what transpires almost every weekend in some church or social hall throughout Pennsylvania.

Earlier this week, the state Senate passed a bill unanimously in response to a cease-and-desist order that was delivered last spring at St. Cecilia's Church.

What the lawmakers said was that charitable groups such as churches should be exempt from state inspections.

The bill now goes to the State House, where hopefully, it will receive the same support.

We can't recall ever reading about anyone getting sick from goods purchased at a bake sale. Same goes for spaghetti suppers, soup sales and barbecues.

We're sure the state inspector who shut down the St. Cecilia's fundraiser was only doing his job. And technically, he was probably correct in determining what was being done was in opposition to state laws.

But most of us are willing to take a chance when it comes to these type of fundraisers.

And we'll continue to support such ventures as long as homemake cakes and apple pies continue to be a part of our culture.

Bob Urban

rurban@tnonline.com