Schools draw line on snacks: Soft drinks, candy removed from K-5 vending machines
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Soft drinks and candy have been removed from school vending machines because of a new Tennessee law that restricts sugar, salt, fat content and portion sizes in food and beverages.
The law not only affects what can be sold from vending machines but it also affects what schools can offer students from food carts. The law went into effect this school year.
The change hasn?t been a smooth one for some schools.
?Right now we don?t have anything in our vending machines except water,? said West Elementary principal Marsha Newman. ?We can?t seem to get ahold of the vending machine people to get anything healthy in there.?
Along with effecting regular snack machines, Newman says the new law affected the school?s existing milk machine. According to state regulations, beverage portions cannot exceed 8 ounces, except for plain bottled water, and very few vendors offer drinks in so small a container.
Determining what?s in and what?s out is not always easy. A complicated formula has left some school officials using a calculator to determine which snacks can be sold and which ones can?t.
?This has been confusing for us and for the principals,? said Cheryl Kelly, director of the school system?s coordinated health program.
It?s been tough for some students too.
?All the machines sell is water, water and more water,? said West Elementary fifth-grader Kyler Walker. ?Put some diet drinks in there or something, or at least put sweet tea. I don?t like water.?
However some decisions have been easy. For example, soft drinks are prohibited because carbonated drinks can?t be sold.
Also banned are most regular chips because they far exceed the amount of fat that?s allowed, although several types of baked chips can be sold.
The new restrictions apply for the entire school day and begin 45 minutes before school starts and last until 30 minutes after school is over.
Food items sold during that time, either from vending machines or snack carts, must contain: 35 percent or less total fat by calories, 10 percent or less saturated fat by calories, 35 percent or less sugar by weight, and 230 mg or less sodium.
For beverages, plain water can be sold in any size container. If water is flavored or sweetened, however, it can?t be sold in a container larger than 8 ounces. Milk and 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices also must be in containers 8 ounces or smaller.
Parents can still send any snacks they want to school with their children. The restrictions are aimed at what can be purchased at school.
As per state requirements, K-5 schools must be in complete compliance this year. Middle schools must be in 50 percent compliance. The new rules do not apply to high schools.