Word On The Street: The Banana Vote Emerges

Ward 25 voters wrestled with a choice when they arrived at the polls Tuesday morning: Banana bread muffins? Or lemon cupcakes?

They faced that choice as they entered Edgewood School and, in the hallway on the way to the polling station in the gym, passed the PTO’s annual Election Day bake sale.

Lindsey Tengatenga, who was taking a volunteer shift running the operation, a reassuring annual Election Day ritual in the ward, said voters were telling her they had more trouble deciding which baked goods to buy than which candidates to vote for.

“We’re almost out of muffins,” Tengatenga said during a conversation on the ​“Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s ​“LoveBabz LoveTalk” program. ​“So I think that tells you what people are voting for.”

Reinforcements were on the way, with PTO parents busy in their kitchens baking fresh supplies. The sale was scheduled to last through poll-closing time at 8 p.m.

The bake sale can be viewed as a part of democracy just as much as elections: citizens taking joint action to support public education. The money goes toward classroom supplies and field trips, among other uses. Last year’s sale raised over $700.

Kids help their parents sell the baked goods each year.

“Being in community across generations working together is all about being part of something bigger,” Tengatenga reflected. ​“We go further together.”

Click on the video and advance to the 19:25 mark to watch the full conversation with Lindsey Tengatenga on the ​“Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s ​“LoveBabz LoveTalk” program. Click here to subscribe to WNHH FM’s​“LoveBabz LoveTalk” and here to subscribe to other WNHH programs.