It's as American as apple pie, chocolate chip cookies and banana-nut bread.
But at Davis Senior High School, the old-fashioned bake sale is a thing of the past.
School officials have forbidden students from selling homemade cookies and cupcakes to raise money for their campus clubs or favorite charities.
Food prepared in home kitchens violates federal health laws, according to school rules handed down last month.
"If you wish to violate this order, your club will be disbanded," reads one provision.
Also banned are club meetings without a teacher present. "NO exceptions," say the rules.
And students can no longer accept cash at charity fundraisers – only checks – to avoid accounting irregularities.
The rules have raised a ruckus on campus. Students call them new and unfair.
They are protesting, including through a page on the social networking Web site Facebook titled "Petition to retract the new rules for clubs."
So far, 181 students have signed up.
Administrators insist the rules have been around for years but that enforcement has been lax.
"Students always believe that when something comes their way, it is entirely new," said Pamela Mari, the Davis Joint Unified School District's director of student services and a former vice principal at Davis High.
Other school districts are in compliance, and Davis needs to be more strict to comply with state and federal laws, officials insist.
That might be the case, said Tilman Heyer, president of the high school's German club.
But he argued that the newly strict enforcement is discouraging students from taking part in extracurricular activities and raising money for charities.
"I understand why they have to do it, but I don't think it's very productive," he said. "Our clubs raised a lot of money last year."
The 17-year-old senior says his club has traditionally raised money by selling homemade baked goods.
This year, they bought pastries from a retail bakery in Davis and sold them at a loss at a club event in September.
Heyer said he's worried about a language fair in November – traditionally the German club's biggest fundraiser.
The club raises money to support Heifer International, which buys farm animals for families in developing nations.
Last year, a carwash, international film festival and a food concession brought in $800, he said.
"We bought a goat, some rabbits and some pigs," Heyer said.
Anna Schickele, 16, wrote about the rules controversy for the student newspaper.
She's also a member of Freedom from Hunger, which she says might disband because it can't sell homemade food.
The requirement that students write checks for a slice of pizza or a carwash was absurd, she said.
"It's ridiculous," she said. "I don't know any people my age who have checkbooks."
She said she's heard there may be revisions in the works.
In the meantime, student groups are increasingly moving their activities off campus or looking for loopholes to avoid the restrictions, she said.
Principal Michael Cawley remembers the days of school bake sales. Some rules, he said, can seem unreasonable.
It's all part of complying with state and federal regulations, he said.
"We don't make 'em up," he said. "We just try to enforce them."
Call The Bee's Hudson Sangree, (916) 321-1191.
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