When third-grader Nathaniel Barrios asked at home for a Fluffernutter sandwich (a sandwich of peanut butter and Marshmallow Fluff), his father, Massachusetts State Senator Jarrett T. Barrios, was flabbergasted. The elder Barrios-whom a Boston Globe reporter described as "svelte and fitness-conscious"-was dismayed to learn that his son was learning such non-nutritious eating habits at school, where Fluffernutters are on offer in the cafeteria. The senator quickly vowed to place an amendment in a current anti-junk food bill "that would severely limit the serving of marshmallow spreads in school lunch programs statewide." Here we go again, with administrators pandering to their students' collective sweet tooth and lawmakers trying to over-regulate schools and micromanage their day-to-day operations. And some legislators, such as Senator Richard T. Moore, actually think the anti-Fluff movement doesn't go far enough. He said about the amendment, "we think we can go beyond that for something more comprehensive." Bad idea. Senator Barrios would do well to leave his gastronomical fetishes out of public policy, or quickly get working on another piece of legislation: a state-funded body guard to protect his third-grade son from the nuggies and swirlies that await him.
"Lawmaker wants schools to put a lid on Fluff," by Phillip McKenna, Boston Globe, June 19, 2006