69传媒

Student Well-Being

Beverage Industry Sets Voluntary Rules for Soda Vending in 69传媒

By Vaishali Honawar 鈥 August 30, 2005 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

The nation鈥檚 leading soft-drink producers have come up with voluntary guidelines that would restrict the sale of sodas in schools, but critics say the move will have almost no impact where the problem is worst鈥攊n high schools.

The board of the American Beverage Association, whose members collectively sell 85 percent of the soft drinks in the school vending market, approved the policy Aug. 16. Under the guidelines, producers would provide elementary schools with only water and 100 percent juice, and middle schools with nutritious and low-calorie drinks, including water, sports drinks, and fruit juices as well as diet soft drinks. In high schools, no more than 50 percent of vending machine selections could be regular or diet sodas.

鈥淲e believe this policy is a sensible approach that addresses the issues unique to the school environment,鈥 Susan K. Neely, the trade group鈥檚 president, said in announcing the guidelines Aug. 17 in Seattle at the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures. The association includes major producers such as the Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., as well as fruit-juice manufacturers such as Tropicana Products Inc. and many smaller beverage makers.

Margo Wootan, the director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocacy group, said that while the guidelines are 鈥渁 good step for elementary schools and a reasonable step for middle schools,鈥 they fall short for high schools.

A study by Ms. Wootan鈥檚 group two years ago found that diet and regular sodas accounted for about 45 percent of the offerings in high school vending machines, with water, fruit juices, and sports drinks making up the rest. The beverage association鈥檚 guidelines would simply maintain the status quo, she said.

鈥淗igh schools are where the vending problem is the worst,鈥 Ms. Wootan said.

David K. Lohrrman, the president of the American School Health Association, based in Kent, Ohio, said the beverage trade group could have further scaled down the proportion of sodas offered in high school vending machines to 25 percent.

Ms. Wootan added that as more states pass laws regulating the sales of such beverages, the industry is responding to the 鈥渨riting on the wall.鈥

State Action

Amy Winterfeld, a health-program analyst at the Denver-based NCSL, said 38 states have considered bills on school nutrition over the past three years, with 15 passing measures that require an improvement in the nutritional quality of foods served in schools or restrict the sale of sodas and junk food in vending machines.

A bill in Congress would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to come up with rules on the nutritional quality of foods sold through vending machines, a la carte lines, fundraisers, and other school venues. While the USDA now sets detailed standards for school meals, it has little authority over foods sold through vending machines and other sources.

鈥淭here is just a growing awareness that the number of obese children [in the country] has increased,鈥 Ms. Winterfeld said.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that among American 6- to 19-year-olds, 16 percent, or more than 9 million, are overweight.

Some school systems have moved on their own to restrict the availability of sodas to students. In the 140,000-student Montgomery County, Md., school district, high schoolers have not had access to such beverages during the entire school day since the 2003-04 academic year, said Kathleen C. Lazor, the district鈥檚 nutrition director.

She said the school system was trying to educate children about making wise choices in nutrition.

鈥淲e wanted to make sure that as they are walking through the halls, they can make healthy choices as well,鈥 she said.

Related Tags:

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Student Well-Being Student Journalists Want to Cover Politics. Not Everyone Agrees They Should
Student journalists are grappling with controversial topics鈥攁 lesson in democracy that's becoming increasingly at risk for pushback.
7 min read
Illustration of a paper airplane made from a newspaper.
DigitalVision Vectors
Student Well-Being Opinion 3 Things You Need to Know About Absenteeism
We studied the data from more than 1.5 million students. Here鈥檚 are some overlooked insights to boost attendance.
Todd Rogers, Emily Bailard & Mikia Manley
4 min read
Scattered school desks seen from above, some with red x's on them signifying absences.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and iStock/Getty Images
Student Well-Being SEL Has Become Politicized. 69传媒 Are Embracing It Anyway
Eighty-three percent of principals report that their schools use an SEL curriculum or program.
5 min read
Image of positive movement when attending to a student's well-being is a component.
Dmitrii_Guzhanin/iStock/Getty and Laura Baker/Education Week
Student Well-Being 69传媒 Don't Want to Talk About Politics, Either
The election is occurring at a time when many schools are discouraged from having tough conversations in class.
6 min read
Viewers gather to watch a debate between Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Angry Elephant Bar and Grill, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in San Antonio.
Viewers gather to watch a debate between Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Angry Elephant Bar and Grill, Sept. 10, 2024, in San Antonio. Researchers say students are more reluctant to talk politics this election cycle.
Eric Gay/AP