New bills slated to go into effect July 2007
SACRAMENTO — Two state bills, passed last week and aimed at reducing obesity among students, are being watched by district officials, who haven’t determined what changes, if any, they’ll need to make to the kinds of foods they provide.
Advocates claim big changes are coming to California’s public schools after two bills were passed on Tuesday intended to limit the amount of junk food and soda available on campuses statewide.
Meanwhile, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District officials said there may be more grease to the legislation than grit, since the food they provide local students may already comply with the proposed reforms.
The two bills, SB12 and SB965, reflect efforts already undertaken by some school districts — including the SMMUSD — that make lunches and snacks healthier by setting limits on the amount of sugar and fat sold in food during school hours.
Both bills have the support of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is expected to sign them this week during a fitness summit that will focus on health, nutrition and obesity.
SMMUSD officials said they don’t have hard numbers on how many of their students are obese, but a report released two years ago by Santa Monica College indicates the local health picture may not be pretty.
In 1999, an estimated 61 percent of adults were overweight in the United States, along with 13 percent of adolescents. Obesity among adults has doubled since 1980, while the number of overweight adolescents has tripled.
Currently, it’s believed 130 million Americans, or two-thirds of the population, are overweight or obese. By contrast, obesity in other industrialized nations is lower, averaging 10 to 12 percent in Europe. The health problems related to the growing girth of Americans are fairly well-known — more heart disease, diabetes and other weight-related ailments that send 300,000 Americans to an “early grave” every year, according to SMC’s report, derived from information issued by the Surgeon General.
The two bills passed last week would allow junk food and soda to be sold at school club meetings and sporting events. They don’t apply to foods that students bring from home or that are given away in the classroom.
Nothing in the bills prevents students from strolling to off-campus fast-food joints, and the laws, if they go into effect, would only apply to high school students; the state has already banned the sale of junk food and soda in elementary and middle schools.
Meanwhile, local school officials are hesitant to discuss the bill until they see it in it’s finalized form. Orlando Griego, food services director for the district, said there have been many attempts in the past to regulate food consumption among students — some that have been successful and others that haven’t.
However, Griego said aspects about the current bills already seem to be confusing the public.
The purpose of the legislation is to restrict the consumption of sugar and fat, but it doesn’t necessarily mean popular foods would no longer be available for students, Griego said. In a recent report, it was indicated that the legislation would mean French fries would no longer be available in high school.
Griego said that was a misnomer. The key to what students may be allowed to eat might in many cases have to do with how the food is prepared.
“French fries that are fried would likely be banned, but you may still be able to bake them,” Griego said. “I think the best thing we can do is take a look at the final bills and ask our food providers what they can do to make sure we are in compliance.”
DISTRICT BALANCES HEALTH WITH CHOICE As the fight to improve the health of young people continues statewide, SMMUSD officials said they have been taking their own measures to provide healthy alternatives for hungry students.
Santa Monica high schools provide a “well-balanced” lunch menu, Griego said. Meals offered each week — from spaghetti to sandwiches — are required to have less than 35 percent fat and sugar content by weight. These restrictions are measured as an average over a month-long period. Likewise, the district offers it students more than one third of the daily average of vitamin C and calcium recommended by the Food and Drug Administration.
However, cafeteria meals are not students’ only choice; high school students are allowed to leave campus for lunch.
Each high school also has the option to contract with nearby food establishments. Hence, the district has contracts with McDonald’s, Papa John’s and Taco Bell.
However, the number of bagels, hamburgers, pizzas and burritos these vendors provide is limited, and the food managers for the district’s three high schools determine what to order, based on student demand, Griego said.
Current contract information for this year wasn’t available. However, in the 2002-03 school year, annual contracts were awarded to Papa Johns for $50,000, McDonald’s for $33,000, Taco Bell for $33,000 and Pizza Hut for $15,000. The district also awarded a $30,000 contract for cookies, $23,000 for bagels, $10,000 for its “Slush Puppie” machine and a $6,000 contract for frozen yogurt.
When selling these foods to students, the district adds a slight mark-up to recoup the costs of service. One-year contracts with the vendors generate about $95,000 in revenue for the district, according to school records.
On a similar note, operating snack and soda vending machines has proven to be a very popular way for some departments to raise money that would otherwise not be available. For example, vending machines run by the Samohi athletic department raised $30,000 in 2001 to buy athletic equipment and new uniforms.
Although high schools aren’t required to do so, Samohi has a vending machine that offers only 50 percent carbonated drinks — the rest is milk, water and juice.
Santa Monica is far ahead of the state on serving nutritious meals to its elementary and middle school students. For nearly 10 years, snack foods and carbonated beverages have not been sold in any of those schools, though children are allowed to bring them from home. Only in 2001 did the California Senate pass a law establishing those same rules statewide.
On the other side of the food spectrum, Samohi has had a salad bar in its cafeteria since 1997. The salad bar’s fruits and vegetables come from the farmers’ market.
It has become increasingly popular. At its inception, about 30 students took advantage of its meals daily. Currently, hundreds of students choose the salad bar over the regular lunch menu, said Dona Richwine, the district’s nutritionist.
Richwine said approximately $25,000 in grants from the city of Santa Monica has allowed the district to expand the salad program. Now, students are growing many of the fruits and vegetables in school gardens, which are being tied in with health education.
“We hope the gardens and nutrition courses will increase the consumption at the salad bar,” Richwine said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 12, 2005. Read the original PDF.