Bake Sales Take Nisky by Storm

By: Maddy Kahn Ehrlich

You're walking to your next class, your stomach angry and screaming at you for food. Looking in your bag, no food is there. Then you see the table. If it's either a table at crossroads, in the old cafe or somewhere else in the hallway, bake sales are happening now more than ever. 

Debate club had a bake sale. The Animal Welfare club had a bake sale. The Culinary club had a bake sale. Bake sales are happening left and right, but why is bake sales always the first choice of fundraisers people go to? 

Some other funds in the school have been asking for donations through boxes set up at crossroads or placed around the school, sometimes students sell other goods, but mainly, bake sales dominate the market. 

What are the differences between the two? For one, one involves food and one does not. Bake sales are like a restaurant, an in school restaurant, filled with sweet goods. If it's the delicious cupcakes, sweet candy or stomach filling cookies, you can find it all at a bake sale. Sometimes the clubs run it or raise money for different organizations, putting in the work to raise money for Ukraine or other places, while other times the goal of the club is to raise money for their own club. However, whatever the case, the luring smell of cookies finds its way to students without the need for any purpose behind it. 

On the other hand, clubs have also had their hand at setting up boxes and doing drives like that. However, lately it seems more bake sales have been taking those funds' place. The result of bake sales could be getting 200 or even 300 dollars by just a few donations from setting up a box. 

Why is this? Maybe it's the fact that after two years of Covid-19 people are finally excited about interacting with each other and being able to purchase things in a way that resembles Niskayuna High School’s own little economy. Or maybe, it's the fact that bake sales are more noticeable and interactable, where students see their friends running the bake sale, go to it, then spread the news to their friends, the news of the bake sale spreading like wildfire. Or, maybe it's just the fact that you gain something in return for your donation, the treats being your main motivation to donate to the cause, or you don’t even care for the cause, your hunger motivating your actions. 

With the boxes sitting in the corner of the hallway, trying to beckon you to make donations, they might not have the same appeal as bake sales, yet it is still important to donate to them. If it was 20 years ago, when we didn’t have all the social media platforms, would bake sales still have the same appeal as they do now? Or would the boxes asking for donations dominate? The question is, is it this generation, where social media promotes interaction and spreads the news of bake sales quicker, encouraging students to bring money. And, with the lack of socialization last year, the bake sales acting as a light that can lead us back to “normal” times where being able to buy foods isn’t a hazard? Or, is the hassle of bringing something to school to donate too much, the box not bringing you wonderment as much as the easiness of pulling out a dollar is for a bake sale. 

Overall, we all may have different reasons to go to a bake sale. It's a fun activity and one that can create a difference by raising money for different causes. It's evident that bake sales are the main choice of fundraiser. For some reason, maybe many different ones, appealing to students.

A bake sale is a symbol out of the Covid ways and something all students like, the sweet foods providing a nice aspect to a day. Many schools probably do bake sales, but Niskayuna High School has made it their own too.