Florida’s official state dessert becomes topic of debate

Will strawberry shortcake’s designation as the state’s official dessert steal the limelight from the official state pie, Key lime?

The debate behind bills (HB 567 and SB 1006), which have both advanced in committee, is whether there’s room for two helpings of sweet stuff among Florida’s official symbols.

The proposal to make strawberry shortcake Florida’s official dessert is largely seen as a tribute to the country’s second-largest strawberry-producing region – and a sign of Central Florida’s political might.

But Key lime pie won out over the pecan pie in 2006 in a proxy battle for political hegemony between North and South Florida.

– Anne Geggis, The South FL 100