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soda in schools - 8/28 - Portland [Maine] Press
Thursday, August 28, 2003 Changing Tastes By MELANIE CREAMER, Portland Press Herald News Assistant The SAD 61 Board of Directors didn't want to wait until January to see if the Legislature will pass a bill to ban the sale of candy and soda in schools. On Aug. 18, the board took a stand and passed a policy itself. The School Administrative District 61 board teamed up with Changing the Scene, a committee working to promote healthier food choices and physical activity in schools to give students more nutritious choices in lunch menus and vending machines. The sale of soda and candy will be strictly prohibited by any school group on school grounds at any time. That means Pepsi, Coke, Sprite and Mountain Dew will be replaced by water, flavored waters, juices and fortified sports drinks. Snickers, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat and other candy bars were junked, replaced by low-fat cookies, crackers, raisins, dried fruit, pretzels and popcorn. Teachers will see the changes, too, as soda and candy wereremoved from their vending machines also. Lunch menus will also feature healthier alternatives, such as fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Beverly Chalmers, principal of Stevens Brook Elementary School and a member of the committee, said the goal is to promote awareness of healthier food choices and encourage students to get more exercise. "We are concerned about obesity among students," said Chalmers. "For another 50 cents, you can 'super-size' your french fries or soda. The fast food and soda ads are heavily marketed to lure young children. There is a lack of physical activity with the increased use of computers and popularity of video games. We see the effects at the schools, and we need to make these changes." Stevens Brook Elementary will be one of seven schools in the district promoting healthy food habits. Teachers may no longer give candy as a reward for a correct answer, or an A on a test. Carrots and other vegetables or fruit will be handed out instead. Stevens Brook will also starting a walking program and is considering opening the gym during lunch so students can walk. Superintendent Klaus-Peter Voss said the changes are a step in the right direction. He said he believes schools have the responsibility to provide healthy foods to students. "This is our contribution to them," said Voss. "We wanted to put our money where our mouth is and promote healthy nutrition habits in our students. Removing the soda and candy in the vending machines was the first step. We can't control what they eat at home, but we can control what we put in the vending machines." The Windham School Department has chosen to carry soda and snacks in its vending machines. The machines are turned off during school hours and activated after the buses leave, for students participating in after-school activities. The department decided to carry candy and soda to prevent students from walking across Route 202 to a convenience store. The vendor that stocks the middle and high school machines includes some healthy snacks in the machines. Chris Howell, assistant principal of Windham Middle School, said students are choosing water and sports drinks over soda. "If you look at the net sales of each machine, you'll see twice as much water and juices are sold compared to soda," Howell said. "The only food available to kids is the food they bring from home, or from our hot lunch program. The lunch ladies give the kids a lot of good, healthy choices. The food is very good. I eat there." In Maine, about 725 elementary schools and high schools participate in the National School Lunch Program. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, school lunches must meet the dietary guidelines for calorie goals and fat goals based on age and grade, which is no more than 30 percent total fat, and no more than 10 percent saturated fat. A 1990 study led by Robert Leonard, associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of Maine, examined 30,000 Maine students aged 5 to 17 and discovered that students are more overweight when they graduate than when they enter the school system. In Maine, the number of obese children is rising. Obese children will show early warning signs of Type 2 diabetes and are more likely to develop high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, respiratory problems and cancer. "As a nation, we are feeding our children heart disease and quenching their thirst with diabetes," said Deborah Heffernan of Bridgton, an adviser to Changing the Scene and the author of "Arrow Through the Heart," a story of her own recovery and healing from a heart attack. "Our mission is to return children to a time when food tasted delicious, without a lot of sugar, salt, chemicals and bad fats," she said. "We are trying to change children's tastebuds so they learn what really good nutrition tastes like. "It doesn't take a statewide policy to make these changes," said Heffernan. "There are a bunch of people in sneakers supporting their schools and making changes within. We need to continue to keep on the state for an anti-obesity legislation. But neither should the schools wait for changes to happen." School Pouring Rights: The Illegality of School Soda Contracts http://www.schoolpouringrights.com |
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