Stories of Success
Healthy Foods In Schools Case Studies

These are real life examples of how parent, student, school board, or school administrator action resulted in healthier foods in schools.

California
Statewide

In 2004, California's SB 19, the Pupil Nutrition, Health, and Achievement Act of 2001 takes effect. The legislation sets comprehensive nutrition standards for foods sold in elementary schools. Under the legislation, any snacks sold outside the federal meal programs must: 1) have no more than 35% of its calories from fat; 2) have no more than 10% of its calories from saturated fat; 3) be no more than 35% sugar by weight; and 4) the only beverages that may be sold to students are milk, water or juice that is at least 50% fruit juice with no added sweeteners. In middle schools, carbonated beverages may be sold only after the end of the last lunch period (but sports drinks can be sold throughout the day). There are no new nutritional guidelines for high schools. Other provisions of the law include an increase in meal reimbursement rates, pilot projects in middle and high schools that implement the nutrition standards for all foods and beverages sold outside the federal meal programs, and planning grants to develop other policies relating to nutrition and physical activity.

Los Angeles Unified School District

In August 2002, the Los Angeles Unified School District B the second largest school district in the U.S. with 750,000 students and 677 schools B banned the sale of soft drinks in vending machines or school stores during school hours. The more than 200 middle and high schools in Los Angeles with individual contracts with Coca-Cola and Pepsi have until 2004 to make the change. L.A. schools will allow water, milk, drinks that are at least 50 percent fruit juice, and sports drinks with less than 42 grams of sugar per 20-ounce bottle. The School Board passed a resolution instituting the ban. Jacqueline Domac, a health teacher at Venice High School, played a key role in organizing the effort. At the heart of the policy is a growing movement to fight the state's obesity epidemic. Recently, a UCLA survey found that 40 percent of students in Los Angeles schools are obese.

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Oakland Unified School District

In February 2002, The Oakland Unified School District adopted a ban on the sale of all soft drinks and candy in all of its schools. The district policy changed after public outcry over the potential $5 million contract with Pepsi in November 2000. After rejecting the contract, the school board developed a nutrition policy committee that ultimately called for the elimination of soda and unhealthy snack food for the district schools. Improvements in the school food include: soy-based burgers, salads, grilled chicken, and fruit juice.

The Hemet Unified School District

In July 2002, the Hemet Unified School District banned the sale of sodas on campus during school hours to promote better health. The district agreed to a three-year contract, which included a $150,000 bonus, with Coca-Cola to sell its juices, sports drinks, and water. Soda sales have generated an annual average profit of $40,000. SOURCE: "Soda debate: Inland school officials weigh profits from sales, health issue," The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA), October 10, 2002

San Francisco Unified School District

In January 2003, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the San Francisco School Board joined the battle for improving nutrition and health for their students. The vote to ban soda and candy from cafeterias passed unanimously and will take affect next school year. Throughout the district's 114 schools the school district is looking at improving nutrition and eliminating unhealthy levels of fat, sugar and salt from breakfasts and lunches served in cafeterias. Junk foods sold in vending machines or student stores will still be allowed for now.

Sacramento City Unified School District

In June 2000, public outcry began over the school district's plan to implement a district-level exclusive contact with Pepsi for $2 million. After protest from health professionals and the public, the school district turned down the proposal and opted to strengthen the districts nutrition policy.

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Vista Unified School District

This school system wanted to change the usual high-fat and sugar-laden foods and beverages being sold in their vending machines and become what they called "junk food-free." The assistant Superintendent and the director of the Child Nutrition Services helped the Vista High School purchase vending machines and offered healthier options such as bagels and cream cheese, yogurt and granola and dried fruit. Sodas were only offered in about 20% of the vending slots. The first year the school generated $200,000 more in sales than the previous year.

Minnesota
North Community High School, Minneapolis

Faced with alarming statistics about childhood overweight and obesity rates, one member of North's administration re-evaluated the school's beverage vending practices. With the support of the administrative team, Bryan Bass contacted the district's Coca-Cola representative, who was willing to work with North to provide healthier choices. As a result, the school increased the number of machines from four to 16, stocked 13 machines with water or 100% fruit/vegetable juice, stocked two machines with sports drinks, and limited soda to one machine with limited hours of sale. They also instituted a competitive pricing system, selling water for $.75, sports drinks and 100% fruit/vegetable juices are $1.00, and soda and fruit drinks (e.g., Fruitopia) are $1.25. The water machines are strategically placed in high traffic areas and students are now allowed to drink water in the classroom. Soda sales are down, but vending profits increased by almost $4,000 and the total number of cases of beverages has more than doubled from the previous school year, with water being the best seller.

Montana
Whitefish Middle School, Whitefish

Whitefish Middle School with 700 students switched from soda and candy to 100% fruit juice, water, and healthy snacks two years ago. It happened through the collaboration of the Montana Behavioral Initiative (MBI) B a program to develop better more positive interaction between schools and communities and students and Team Nutrition B a USDA program to encourage students to make better and healthier choices. Before the switch, student behavior immediately after lunch would result in disciplinary referrals of six to eight kids a day. Since the switch, there are only one to two referrals a week. They give a lot of credit for the change in behavior to the kids not having access to the sugar and caffeine. As for revenue, the principal Kim Anderson said that there has been a decline in the gross but not in the net. The school has recently purchased its own cold vending machine to sell bagels, low-fat milk, and yogurt.

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New Hampshire
Portsmouth Schools

The Portsmouth School Board voted to eliminate drinks that are full of sugar and caffeine including: soda, sweetened lemonade, iced tea, and fruit drinks. The middle and high school will replace them with plain and flavored waters and 100% fruit juice. They have also eliminated all candy bars and snacks that have little nutritional value and replaced them with crackers, Chex mix, raisins, and fruit snacks. While the school system had been talking about this issue for some time, the catalyst for the change was a letter written to the School Board by a local pediatrician, Dr. Dixon Turner. In the letter, he criticized the presence of soda and unhealthy snacks in vending machines at the schools and warned about the growing obesity rates in kids. SOURCE: "Newest expulsions from local schools: soda pop and candy," Portsmouth Herald, October 24, 2002

South Carolina - current battle
Charleston County Schools

Charleston County Parents for Public Schools is fighting to rescind a five-year, $8.1 million exclusive contract with Pepsi. PPS is calling for the school district to do away with the new contract and to avoid future contracts that would bring advertisers into schools, including a similar contract with snack machine venders. It also wants the school district to offer only healthy options, including water, milk, and fruit drinks with at least 50 % juice. SOURCE: The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC), September 13, 2002

Texas

In April 2002, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) made a policy change regarding Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV) in response to reports issued by the Centers for Disease Control the Surgeon Generals on obesity and overweight. In the policy change, TEA also recognized that increasing consumption of "junk food" and carbonated beverages by children is being blamed for an alarming increase in obesity and Type II diabetes. The new policy states that FMNV may not be available in food service areas where Child Nutrition Program (CNP) meals are either served and or eaten. This includes location that function as a foodservice areas regardless of their location. The policy does not address vending machines, snack bars or a la carte lines only that they cannot offer the restricted food where CNP meals are sold or served. There are four categories of restricted foods covered by the policy: soda water, water ice, chewing gum, and certain candies. This policy also does not include chips, candy bars, French fries, Jell-O, sports drinks, tea, or other junk food items. SOURCE: TEA memos: "Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value Policy", April 2002 and "Clarification of Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value Policy," July 2002

El Paso Independent School District

El Paso Independent School District Trustees voted to ban soft drinks from all campuses except high schools. They turned down a $20 million contract that would have granted a soft drink company exclusive rights to supply the school system for 10 years. Instead, the school district and the beverage company agreed on a 2-year contract to provide water, 100% fruit juice and nonfat milk in all elementary and middle schools. SOURCE: Reuters Health, July 30, 2002

Washington
Statewide

Currently, organizations are working on the re-introduction of a bill into the state legislature that was first introduced in January 2003 that would require all food sold in schools to be healthy. Organizations and individuals including the Children's Alliance, Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools, The Washington State PTA and others strongly supported the Washington State Senate bill that would eliminate the sale of junk food on school grounds. Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles introduced the bill and said, "We must help our youth make proper choices about their diets to ensure they are prepared to learn. However, limiting or banning junk foods is not the end of the problem." The bill would also create a task force to address related issues such as the potential revenue loss to schools, incentives for high schools to participate, increasing the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables, and ways to combat the proliferation of commercial marketing in the school environment.

Seattle Public Schools

The Citizens' Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools is working hard to change school policies when it comes to exclusive contracts. A district contract with Coca-Cola in 1998 for $6.1 million yielded $500,000 in 2001 or about $25 a student. The Coke contract is up for renewal in July 2003 and Washington-state-based Citizens Campaign for Commercial-Free Schools (CCCS) is working with the school board to reevaluate school policy regarding the contract. SOURCES: Seattle Weekly, September 25 B October 1, 2002 and CCCS website: "Update on Coke contract in Seattle,"

Wyoming
Uinta County School District #1, Evanston High School

Judy Rossmeisl, the Evanston, Wyoming School Food Service Director, the Uinta County School District Superintendent and the high school principal reevaluated the foods offered in their schools when faced with a memorandum from USDA stating that no food of minimal nutritional value can be served in school serving or eating areas. A new district policy took soft drinks out of the school and replaced it with milk, 100 % juice, sports drinks, and fruit drinks (e.g. lemonade). School revenue from vending dropped from $6,000 to $2,000, which in part has been absorbed by Food Service. The school also increased the number of lunch periods from two to three. This has resulted in more students buying lunch, thus, increasing revenue. Previously there were so many students trying to eat lunch at the same time that many students couldn't get through the line in enough time to eat their lunch. They either they went without lunch, ate from the vending machines, or went off campus. The principal instituted closed campus for freshman and sophomores which has also helped to increase revenue. The school also replaced some of the candy in snack machines with more nutritious snacks.

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