By Lindsay Tice,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Don’t look to Lewiston schools to satisfy your Snickers craving or that urge for caramel-covered popcorn.

Candy sales are now banned.

The Lewiston School Committee voted 4-3 Monday night to prohibit candy sales in schools or by school-sponsored groups. That means no more candy bars for the school store and concession stand, no more gum to raise money for field trips and no more chocolate-covered pretzels sold by parent-teacher organizations.

Lewiston will try the new policy this school year and will seek comments from booster clubs and others affected by the ban. The School Committee will revisit the policy within a year.

Some booster club members couldn’t wait a year to comment. They spoke before the vote Monday, urging caution on a policy they believe could snowball out of control.

“I just want you to think about how far you are going to take this. What’s next? Are you going to ban soda? Are you going to ban hot dogs?” asked Jennifer Wiley, a parent and nutritionist who runs the concession stand during high school girls’ basketball games.

She and others, including School Committee member Ronella Paradis, pushed for more in-school exercise and better nutritional education, not a ban on candy.

“That is what the board should be looking at, and how we can get it in the budget,” said Paradis, who voted against the policy.

But proponents called the ban a good middle ground.

The School Committee revised its policy because the Maine Department of Education required that all school systems look at their food sales rules and consider changes.

Following Department of Education suggestions, the School Committee could have banned all junk foods, including bake sale brownies and concession stand cookies. It also could have required that all food sale money benefit the school system’s hot lunch program, not sports teams or field trips.

In voting for the candy ban, School Committee members allowed all other junk food sales by outside groups, except for the Lewiston Regional Technical Center school store. The school store can only sell food that meets federal nutrition guidelines. Outside groups will be encouraged, but not forced, to sell healthy foods.

The School Committee also agreed to let booster clubs and other groups keep the money they make from food.

“It’s pretty much business as usual for everybody, but we made a stand on candy,” said Regis Beaulieu, the health and wellness coordinator for the school system.

The candy policy takes effect immediately, although groups can sell any candy stock they have on hand until Nov. 21.

Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other groups that rent or borrow school buildings will be exempt from the candy ban because they are not school-sponsored.

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