School vending rated as junk



School vending rated as junk

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

A Gallup poll finds that many teens admit eating "a great deal or some junk food in a typical week," and they say they buy "junk food and soda" from vending machines at school.

A survey from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a Washington-based consumer group, found that the vending machines in middle and high schools are filled with candy, cookies, chips, soft drinks and other sugary beverages, and very few fruits or healthy snacks.

This latest news may confirm the obvious to some, but it comes at a time when about 20% to 30% of children are overweight or at risk of becoming so. Some schools and entire school districts have revamped what's sold in vending machines in an effort to offer foods that are considered healthier.

In the meantime, the national Gallup Youth Survey of 785 respondents, ages 13 to 17, found:

• 23% say they eat "a great deal" of junk food (defined as food that is convenient but isn't considered healthy) in a typical week; 61% say they eat some; 14% eat hardly any; 2% eat none.

• 67% say they buy junk food or soda from vending machines at school.

• 75% of the teens who describe themselves as overweight say they buy junk food or soda at school, compared with 65% of those who feel that they are about right or underweight.

For the CSPI study, 120 volunteers examined the contents of 1,420 vending machines at 251 schools in 24 states for a total of 13,650 food and beverage slots. The schools were in both urban and rural areas, but the survey was not nationally representative. They found:

• Of the drinks available, 70% are sugary drinks such as soda, juice drinks with less than 50% juice, iced tea and sports drinks. Of the sodas, 14% are diet. Water accounts for 12%; milk for 5% (mostly high-fat whole milk or 2%).

• Of the snack foods sold, 42% are candy; 25%, chips; 13%, cookies, snack cakes and pastries.

• A few healthier choices are available: low-fat chips and pretzels (5%); crackers or Chex Mix (3%); granola and cereal bars (2%); low-fat cookies and baked goods (2%); nuts and trail mix (1%); fruits and vegetables, less than .5%

"At a time when obesity is front page news, I can't believe that we haven't done more as a country to ensure that all the choices available in schools are healthy," says CSPI's Margo Wootan.

CSPI is calling for strategies from federal and state governments and school districts to make sure healthy foods are sold in vending machines, in school stores or for fundraising.

Stephanie Childs of the Grocery Manufacturers of America, a trade group representing brand name companies, says, "Eliminating choices will not eliminate obesity, but expanding choices and nutrition education will help students understand how all foods can fit into the diet responsibly."

The National Soft Drink Association says independent food consumption data indicates that only 20% of kids buy beverages during the week from school vending machines. Those kids consume about 12.5 ounces a week from soft drinks, the group says.

"You are looking at 140 to 150 calories a week, and that's not going to do anything to meaningfully address the childhood obesity issue," says Kathleen Dezio of the soft drink association.

"Soft drink companies offer the schools a variety of beverages, including water, juice, juice drinks, sports drinks, regular soft drinks and diet soft drinks, and parents and local school administrators, not CSPI or the government, should determine the product mix that is appropriate for their students," she says.

On a national level, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has introduced a bill that would give the Department of Agriculture authority to regulate food sales throughout the school, not just the lunchroom. For schools that worry they might lose money due to reduced sales, the bill offers incentive grants to those that offer healthier choices.

Some state lawmakers have proposed bills to put restrictions on the kinds of foods and drinks sold in schools. California passed a law limiting sale of soft drinks in elementary and middle schools.

Los Angeles Unified School District eliminated the sale of soft drinks in all schools in January. In July, additional restrictions go into effect on the sale of high-fat, high-sugar foods in vending machines, school stores and a la carte cafeteria lines.

Two years ago, Venice (Calif.) High School switched to healthier fare such as baked chips, trail mix, fruit and cereal bars, water, 100% juice and organic soy milk. "This is the right thing to do," says Jacqueline Domac, a health teacher who was instrumental in the changes. "If a student is eating well, they're going to perform well academically."

School Vending Machines “Dispensing Junk”

75 Percent of Drinks and 85 Percent of Snacks Unhealthful, Says CSPI

A nationwide survey of vending machines in middle schools and high schools finds that 75 percent of the drinks and 85 percent of the snacks sold are of poor nutritional value. The study, of 1,420 vending machines in 251 schools, was organized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and conducted by 120 volunteers. CSPI contends that all foods sold out of vending machines, school stores, and other venues outside of the official school lunch program should make positive contributions to children’s diets and health.

“It’s hard enough for parents to guide their children’s food choices, but it becomes virtually impossible when public schools are peddling junk food throughout the school day,” said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo G. Wootan. “Many parents who send their kids off with lunch money in the morning have no clue that it can be so readily squandered on Coke, Doritos, and HoHos.”

Of the drinks sold in the 13,650 vending-machine slots surveyed, 70 percent were sugary drinks such as soda, juice drinks with less than 50 percent juice, iced tea, and “sports” drinks. Of the sodas, only 14 percent were diet, and only 12 percent of the drinks available were water. Just 5 percent of drink options were milk but of those, most (57 percent) were high-fat whole or 2 percent milk.

Of the snack foods sold in the machines, candy (42 percent), chips (25 percent) and sweet baked goods (13 percent) accounted for 80 percent of the options. Of 9,723 snack slots in all the vending machines surveyed, only 26 slots contained fruits or vegetables.

While the Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets detailed standards for nutrient content and portion sizes for the official school meals, it currently has little authority to regulate foods sold outside those meals, whether in vending machines or a la carte (snack) lines in cafeterias. According to CSPI, Congress needs to give USDA more authority to regulate such foods in order to preserve the integrity of the federal school lunch program, in which the federal government invests $8.8 billion a year.

“Junk foods in school vending machines compete with, and ultimately undermine, the nutritious meals offered by the federal school lunch program,” said Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). “Congress should step in and ensure that soda, candy, chips, and cookies don’t become the de facto school lunch. USDA needs to set standards for all foods sold in schools that participate in the federal school lunch program.”

Despite the financial pressures on school systems that lead them to sell junk food in the first place, some schools are voluntarily setting higher nutrition standards for vending machine foods. As it happens, says CSPI, those school districts are doing well financially by doing good—they are not experiencing a drop-off in revenue by switching to healthier foods.

“Though many assume that vending machines will only be profitable if they are stocked with junk foods, we have not seen a loss in revenue by switching to healthier options,” said Carolyn P. Whitehead, the health and physical education coordinator for McComb, Mississippi school district, which now sells only water and 100 percent fruit juice in vending machines. “School administrators need to know that there’s no downside to supporting better nutrition in schools.”

Soda and low-nutrition snack foods are a key source of excess calories in children’s diets, contribute to overweight and obesity, and displace more nutritious foods. Obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in adolescents over the last two decades. Studies show that children’s soft drink intake has increased, and children who drink more soft drinks consume more calories and are more likely to be overweight than kids who drink fewer soft drinks.

“The underfunding of No Child Left Behind has forced many schools to cut gym classes and prop up Coke machines in their hallways,” said Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). “The legislation that Senator Harkin and I have introduced will, however, help schools improve the quality of foods sold to students. With kids spending much of their waking hours in school, schools should be on the front line of efforts to reduce obesity, overweight, and diet-related disease.”

Senator Harkin and Representative Woolsey are each leading the fight in their respective chambers to give USDA more authority to set nutrition standards for foods sold in schools.

Last September, CSPI published the School Foods Tool Kit, a manual for parents and school administrators who wish to improve school foods by offering a healthy range of drink and snack choices. That kit is available at schoolfood.

School Vending Machines: Health vs. Profits

By Michele McKay

A decade ago snack and soda vending machines in schools were rare. But as times have changed, principals and school PTAs with tight budgets have recognized their revenue potential, and many school districts now rely on vending machines to pay for computers, sports programs and after-school activities. Unfortunately, the machines are packed with sugar and fat, with profits coming at the expense of student health. Many school administrators, teachers, and health advocates believe that selling unhealthy snacks and soda is hypocritical and is a tacit endorsement of the products. In class, students learn the importance of a healthy diet, but at the vending machine they are sold junk food. "Our society should be doing everything possible to encourage kids to eat healthy diets," said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Instead, what are we doing? We're bombarding them with junk food advertising. We're putting junk foods wherever they go, even in schools.”

A U.S. Department of Agriculture report recommended to Congress that all snacks sold in schools should meet the federal government's nutritional standards. A recent study has linked soft drinks to childhood obesity, a condition associated with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and arthritis. Other research links soft drink consumption to tooth decay, caffeine dependence, and osteoporosis.

But the future is looking brighter. In Rhode Island, Stonyfield Farm is sponsoring an organic, low-fat, low-sugar pilot project. Some schools now offer string cheese, pita chips, organic yogurt, soy nuts, dried fruit, and carrots with dip, while others sell cold, bottled milk in a variety of flavors from vending machines. Although milk sells well, the dairy industry is unable to match the lucrative contracts that schools get from soda companies. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures' Health Policy Tracking Service, many schools raise as much as $100,000 a year from vending contracts. Consumer correspondent Greg Hunter reported on Good Morning America that some school districts have multimillion-dollar exclusivity contracts with vending companies. These contracts can include sales quotas; one example required the sale of 4,500 cases of soda a year—about 50 sodas per student. And schools have been known to violate federal and state laws because their contracts require that the vending machines operate all day, including the lunch hour.

The issue has become so controversial that over 20 states are considering limits or total bans on vending machine products, and about 20 already restrict students' access to junk food until after lunch.

Here in Hawai’i , proposed legislation (SB 2147 & HB 1891) would have banned beverages other that water, milk, or fruit juice in public school vending machines, and would have replaced fat- and sugar-rich foods with healthy choices. These bills did not pass, but the State Board of Education has agreed to increase the percentage of healthy drinks sold through school vending machines.

Health movement has school cafeterias in a food fight

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY

Elizabeth Nyikako, 16, a senior at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, used to buy a Coke or a Twix candy bar from school vending machines, but no more. Now she gets bottled water and granola bars.

Shone Talbert, 16, a junior at Hirsch Metro High School in the city, liked to get Butterfingers, potato chips and soft drinks from the machines. But now he buys them on his way to school.

That's because last year Chicago Public Schools revamped what was offered in the machines. Soft drinks were booted out, and water, sports drinks and juice were offered instead. Granola bars and baked chips replaced candy bars and fried chips.

Food for thought is taking on a new meaning as students across the nation begin a new school year. Chicago is just one of many school districts that have mobilized to replace high-fat, high-sugar foods and drinks with healthier choices in vending machines and cafeteria à la carte lines. Students returning to schools in cities such as Washington will see good-for-you foods in vending machines for the first time this fall.

This year alone, 42 state legislatures have enacted or proposed measures that require or recommend nutritional guidance for schools, says Carla Plaza of Health Policy Tracking Service, which reports on state health legislation. Some set limits for elementary and middle schools but give high schools more choices. Others propose standards that would apply to all grades.

"This has been a watershed year for state legislation dealing with school nutrition," says Amy Winterfeld, a health policy analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "There has been a wide range of legislation covering everything from offering healthier beverages to eliminating deep-fat frying."

Why the nationwide drive to get junk foods out of schools? Because you can't pick up a newspaper or magazine without reading about childhood obesity. About 31% of children ages 6 to 19 are overweight or at risk of becoming so, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The supposed beneficiaries of this nutritional reform appear to have mixed feelings. "I saw the purpose of it — to make sure kids were eating healthier food at school," Nyikako says. "But on the other hand, I felt like people should be able to make choices without over-indulging. One candy bar a month isn't going to kill you."

Talbert hates the switch. "What they have to offer now, none of us want," he says. "It's OK to be healthy every now and then, but it shouldn't be forced on us."

But the other side is organized — and adamant. Many parents, public health advocates, school administrators, food service directors and legislators think it's crucial that schools offer healthy fare.

Even some industry groups are joining the effort. Last week, the American Beverage Association recommended that beverage companies adopt voluntary restrictions on the sales of soft drinks in school vending machines. The group recommends eliminating soft drinks in elementary schools, severely restricting them in middle schools and requiring that they be only 50% of the choices in high school machines.

Junk food 'free-for-alls'

Some schools are junk food "free-for-alls," says Enid Hohn, director of the nutrition services division for Vista Unified School District in San Diego County. Hohn revamped her district's vending machines five years ago to offer healthier fare. The district replaced chips, candy and sodas with granola bars, dried fruit, beef jerky, nuts, cut-up fruit, shaker salads, vegetables with ranch dressing, tuna packs with crackers, water bottles, milk and fruit juice.

Hohn visits other school districts nationally to discuss nutritional changes. In many, students can get candy or soft drinks from the vending machines and buy doughnuts, sodas, chips and cookies from school stores, Hohn says. Plus, school fundraising groups hawk everything from cookie dough to gargantuan candy bars, she says.

The traditional school lunch programs need to operate on a level playing field, Hohn says. "If I'm selling healthy stuff in the lunch line, and the kids can walk 10 feet and buy three fresh-baked cookies for a buck from the school store, that's where they will spend their money," she says. "It's ridiculous."

In fact, the rules governing school foods are fairly complex.

Traditional school breakfast and lunch programs are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The foods in vending machines and school stores — sometimes called "competitive foods" because they compete with the meal programs — are not regulated by the agency.

Because the USDA's guidelines for foods of minimal nutritional value in school à la carte lines haven't been updated for years, it's possible to get some vitamin-impaired fare there. Cafeterias can sell candy bars, cookies, ice cream and french fries but not Popsicles, lollipops and breath mints.

A recent survey supports what Hohn has observed about the abundance of "junk" food. A Pennsylvania State University study of 228 school-food service directors in that state showed that high-schoolers are surrounded by high-fat, high-sugar foods, and not just in vending machines.

The survey found that hamburgers, pizza and sandwiches are top sellers in à la carte lines. Next are high-fat baked goods, french fries and salty snacks.

"We need schools to stand on the side of parents who want to teach good nutrition, not on the side of junk-food companies who want to teach bad nutrition," says Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert, a non-profit, anti-commercialism group.

But some industry groups argue that the sale of commercial foods at school is not the problem.

"Limiting access to certain foods for a few hours a day, half the days of the year, won't get you anywhere near to solving the childhood obesity crisis," says Steve Arthur, vice president of government affairs for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a trade group.

He believes schools could have a bigger effect on health by improving nutritional and physical education. Plus, he says, if the foods and drinks aren't sold in vending machines or à la carte lines, kids will bring them from home.

Dan Mindus, a senior analyst with the Center for Consumer Freedom, a Washington, D.C.-based group supported by the restaurant and food industry, says, "The best thing schools can do about childhood obesity is to get kids moving in gym class."

Some school administrators say they need the income from vending machines — which can range from thousands to millions of dollars a year depending on the size of the school district — to finance activities such as sports, clubs, field trips, and music and art programs.

Money's on the table, too.

The bottom-line question is: Will students eat the healthier snack foods and beverages so the schools continue to make money?

• Since Philadelphia schools instituted a no-soda policy in July 2004, the effect on sales revenue has been negligible, says Vincent Thompson, district spokesman. "It has been our experience so far that when kids get thirsty, they will buy whatever is in the machine."

• Miami-Dade County Public Schools restocked its high school beverage machines last year. Now a third of the machines have 1% low-fat milk; a third offer water and a 100% juice; and a third have soft drinks, says Penny Parham, administrative director of the department of food and nutrition. Water is a huge seller, she says. Revenue from the beverage and snack machines with healthier snacks increased by $400,000 last year, she says.

• So far, the changes have taken a toll on revenue for Chicago Public Schools, although the exact amount is unknown, says Sue Susanke, who is in charge of food services. "We're losing revenue because kids don't buy juice, water and sports drinks with the same enthusiasm that they buy carbonated soft drinks." But, she adds, "from a health standpoint, this is absolutely the way we have to go."

• At Vista Unified district, Hohn says, "Kids will eat healthier items and you can still make money, and a pox on anybody who says kids are only going to drink soda and eat Flaming Hot Cheetos. In 10 years I believe we will look back and say, 'Can you believe we used to sell that junk to our students?' "

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download