Just so much fluff

'The war on Fluffernutter escalates in Legislature' by LeMont Calloway, Globe Correspondent | June 21, 2006

Just the other day Evan and I were speaking admiringly about State Senator Jarrett Barrios' performance during the gay marraige debates. Now he's called for a ban on Fluff. I knew this wouldn't go over well, especially since it's a local product!

A Fluffernutter war has begun in the Massachusetts Legislature.

Countering a state senator's attempt to limit servings of Marshmallow Fluff in schools, a state representative said yesterday she would file her own bill to make the Fluffernutter the state's official sandwich. A Fluffernutter is a peanut butter and Fluff sandwich.

State Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein said Senator Jarrett T. Barrios has taken a ridiculous tack by going after the popular gooey snack. Marshmallow Fluff was invented by a Massachusetts man and is still produced in Lynn, part of Reinstein's district.

Barrios, outraged that his son was served a Fluffernutter for lunch at his Cambridge elementary school, proposed an amendment to a junk food bill, calling for limiting the serving of Fluff to once a week in schools statewide.

"I'm protective of Fluff; I grew up on it," said Reinstein, a Democrat. "But it's insane that we're having this conversation."

. . .

Although she doesn't expect action on the bill, Reinstein said she will file it again in January when it can receive full attention. In her letter, she said that Fluff contains no fat and is only one point in the Weight Watchers diet program.

Barrios, also a Democrat, has been barraged with coverage since he announced his intention to file the bill, pointing out that Fluff is 50 percent sugar. He told the Globe in an earlier interview that he was "not sure we should be even calling it a food."

Since word of Barrios's war on Fluff spread, the story has been picked up by local and national television and radio programs. Numerous blog postings opposed the senator's proposal, with supporters of Fluff asking if there weren't more important things the lawmaker should focus on.

Barrios was blasted on talk radio Monday, with defenders of Fluffernutters suggesting that the sandwiches are an easy and economical meal that parents can fix and that children will actually eat.

He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

One Globe reader, who opposed the measure against Fluff, responded to a Boston.com survey about the controversy, saying "Senator: Boston is known for the Red Sox, baked beans, lobsters, and Fluff." [ ! - ed.]

. . .

Barrios is attempting to add the Fluff amendment to a Senate bill that would bar soft drinks, most candy bars, and potato chips from elementary school vending machines.

. . .

Glenn Koocher, a Barrios campaign contributor who describes himself as a friend of the senator, said he opposes the senator on the matter of Fluff.

"Regulators are trying hard to take the fun out of school," said Koocher, a Cambridge resident and executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. . . ."But kids need to have fun," Koocher said. "I personally love them. Fluffernutter and crunchy Skippy peanut butter is the finest sandwich option of food."

Get a grip Jarrett! Hmm . . . maybe I should get some Fluff and try a Fluffernutter.