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RECOMMENDED LINKS Dr. Joseph Mercola facts about the five worst foods kids eat Education Week October 1st issue on school vending machines, good links
sundayherald.com (UK), July 21 summarizes legal actions re school vending machines Center for Science in the Public Interest related press releases banzhaf.net website of John Banzhaf, the scientist-lawyer leading the fight against big food--latest news, legal updates, etc. "Public Health Advocacy Institute has initiated a project to track and publicize the progress made by food producers and distributors that have voluntarily agreed to improve their practices and products so as to counteract the obesity epidemic." ascribe.org, Oct. 29
FAST FOOD NUTRITION DATA Fast Food Calories & Fats Chart The Kerry Group Casein Corporations From fattening farm animals to fattening humans? Email Your Contribution, Comment, Question to The School Lunch News.
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MACHINE-FOOD REVOLT?
and then
lunch:
"Every snack machine will stock favorites such as M&Ms, Snickers, Cheetos and nacho cheese-flavored Doritos."
ORGANIC? OR JUST JUNK ADDED TO THEIR LUNCH MILK? "Orange Cream and Caramel Flavored Milks Round Out Horizon Organic's Lunch Box Offerings just in time for National School Lunch Week. Lifelong eating habits are established during childhood, which is one reason Horizon Organic believes it is important to offer a wide variety of nutritious lunchbox-ready organic foods that kids enjoy." Horizon Organic Holding Corp., Oct. 7 yahoo.com "Flavored milk drinks contain more fat, sugar, cholesterol, and calories than even soft drinks do." Miami Herald, Oct. 21 JUST MORE JUNK?--"But even the juices and sports drinks do not meet with approval from some vending machine critics. 'Anything is better than soda,' said Robert McKenzie, professor of communication studies at East Stroudsburg University. 'But a lot of those products aren't what they appear to be. They have artificial covering, artificial flavoring, preservatives, sugar, caffeine and caramel.'" Express Times (Pennsylvania), Oct. "Some of the fruit drinks that are now being served are as problematic in calorie and sugar content as soda." Newsday (New York), Oct. 30 "'There will probably be some resistance from school boards. They make money on the vending machines. They have to get beyond that,' Dr. Zachariah said. 'You've got to do this or ultimately the citizens of Florida are going to pay for these fat kids.'" ―tallahassee.com, (Florida) October 16"Whether or not to have vending machines is not an issue. It's to have healthy food in the machines with fruit drinks containing at least 50 percent actual juice, low-fat rather than whole milk and sandwiches instead of highly processed snack foods freemontnebraska.com, Oct. 17." SCHOOL BANS VENDING MACHINES BUT CAFETERIA SELLS SAME JUNK--"NewsCenter 16 found that whatever students cannot buy at the vending machine, they can certainly get in the cafeteria. Freshman Anita Kaoma says, "We can get ice cream and everything in here [cafeteria] but out there [vending machines] they'll have the same stuff but they'll just close it. My personal opinion is it doesn't make any sense." WNDU News (Indianna), Nov. 6 More news... 
LEGAL ACTIONS RE SCHOOL VENDING MACHINES
"Taxpayers are paying hundreds of millions of dollars for a federal school lunch program, but many kids are filling up on empty calories before lunch. That's what has to change."―US Senator Patrick Leahy, washingtonpost.com, March 14, 2001 MANY STATES TO REMOVE SCHOOL VENDING MACHINES OR REQUIRE REMOVAL OF FAST FOODS FROM THEM―"At least 30 states have considered legislation CNN.com, July 14." "The Philadelphia School District will take soft drinks out of the district's schools in an effort to reduce obesity in children July 15." "Chips, cookies, candy and soft drinks will now be banned from the vending machines Missouri, July 11." "The Seattle School Board, in Washington state, has narrowly voted to extend a five-year drinks contract with Coca Cola - but has placed restrictions on sales to pupils BBC, July 21." From Education
Week "Arkansas,
California, and Texas now have laws or rules that restrict the sale of soda and
candy in schools. Legislation to impose similar food and drink restrictions in
schools is pending in at least 19 other states." Oct.
1 More news... Business News Researchers Find Increasing Corporate Marketing in Schools—"The pressure on schools to permit a broad array of marketing activities is now intense and pervasive."--Commericalism in Education Research Unit, Univ. Arizona, July, 2003 "Nationwide, more schools are seeking business partnerships that involve some kind of corporate presence in schools, from small signs bearing logos at a school's entrance to renaming gymnasiums and even school buildings."--Duluth News Tribune (Minnesota), Oct. 31 "This first wave of sponsorships, however modest, is troubling evidence of corporate creep into local classrooms."--Santa Cruz Sentinel (California), Oct. 29 "Increasingly, companies are calling the shots in America's schools. Facing a growing gap between the cost of educating children and the cash available to do so, schools are getting desperate. Some swap advertising space - on school buses, at the gym or stadium and in the lunchroom - in return for corporate cash. Others accept "free" materials or services. But these often serve corporate interests more than they promote educational objectives.--Tallahassee Democrat (Florida), Oct. 25 HUGE NEW YORK CITY CONTRACT QUESTIONED--"A month after agreeing to an unprecedented $166 million contract that places Snapple vending machines in every city school and public building, the Bloomberg administration is fending off charges that the city gave the beverage maker too sweet a deal." wnbc.com, Oct. 24 VENDING MACHINES ARE BIG BIG BIZ—"The Philadelphia-based company's refreshment services division is investing millions - nearing the $10 million mark - on technology upgrades in many of its 30,000 vending machines in 60 markets across the country. The Journal Gazette (Texas), Dec. 1 "Redding (AP) - The director of Coca-Cola's bottling plant in Redding says the facility is about to become the soft drink giant's largest remanufacturing plant in the country. There will be 160 people working at the facility, which refurbishes and repairs vending machines mercurynews.com (California), Oct. 15." "The city’s five-year Snapple deal, announced in September, is worth $40 million to the Department of Education and $126 million to the city. Last week, City Comptroller William Thompson urged the city to cancel the agreement, saying the deal was struck without a fair bidding process." Crain's New York Business, Nov. 5 TAX JUNK FOOD IN SCHOOLS?
"The leader of B.C.'s Green Party is calling for a junk food tax in B.C. schools. Schools are compromising their students' long-term health with vending machines because they aren't getting enough money from the B.C. government, says Adriane Carr. Seventeen U.S. states now add a junk food tax on such vending machine sales and B.C. should join them, she says."
CBC
News (Canada), Nov. 3
More news...
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