Junking Junk Food: Under Federal Orders to Adopt a Wellness Policy By Fall, the St. Paul School District Drafts a Plan Limiting High-Fat, High-Sugar Fare on Campus.

By Doug Belden, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Feb. 21–Pop and high-fat foods would be banned from vending machines in St. Paul Public Schools starting this fall under a proposed wellness policy that also would limit class celebrations involving food to one a month.

The proposal is St. Paul’s version of a document that districts across the nation are in the process of drafting to meet a federal requirement aimed at promoting health and reducing obesity. An estimated 16 percent of U.S. children and teens are overweight, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, a pioneer in the healthy food movement among local school districts, is working on its policy, but it’s too early to say what will be in it, said Kim Craven, administrative assistant to the superintendent.

The situation is similar in the Anoka-Hennepin district, where talks haven’t yet advanced to the detail stage, spokesman Brett Johnson said. “It’s been very broad policy kinds of things.”

St. Paul’s recommendations are in draft form as well and have been distributed to principals for review.

The committee working on the proposal — made up of administrators, staff, parents, students and members of the community and school board — plans to meet again early next month before the school board holds its first hearing on the policy.

The district doesn’t have extensive data on the health of St. Paul students, but officials got some disturbing news in November, when preliminary results from body-mass-index measurements of about 200 fourth-graders showed 44 percent were overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

“That’s quite concerning,” said Ann Hoxie, the district’s administrator for student wellness.

St. Paul’s proposed guidelines would ban pop along with sports drinks, iced teas, fruit-based drinks that contain less than 100 percent fruit juice, and most caffeinated drinks.

Also prohibited would be food items sold individually that contain more than 7 grams of fat per serving or list sugar as the first ingredient.

Items that make the allowed list could be sold only in reduced portions, such as 1 ounce for cookies, 1.25 ounces for chips and 2 ounces for cereal bars.

Besides vending machines, the rules would cover items sold in a la carte cafeteria lines and school stores and through fundraisers.

Losing access to junk food will be tough, said Alex Bantle, an eighth-grader at Highland Park Junior High. “I guess that’s just what we like,” he said, referring to middle-school students. “I don’t think we like healthy food.”

But Alex, whose dad is a doctor who treats diabetics and gives talks on weight loss, said he understands what’s behind the change. “I see the other side,” he said.

Highland Park Principal Theresa Battle said the challenge will be not just easing food out of school celebrations but figuring out what to do about the potential loss of vending revenue. At Highland, that’s more than $10,000 per year.

That money is used to subsidize student field trips, among other things, Battle said. Some of those trips might have to be canceled if the money isn’t there.

Districtwide, vending machines brought in $180,000 last school year, said Carolyn Bolen, purchasing manager for the district. That money is available for use in the school where it is generated.

Raymond Yu, the district’s director of student services, said officials hope vending revenue won’t decline significantly when students get used to the healthier choices. But whatever happens with the money, “(it’s) a quality-of-life issue for our kids,” he said.

As Dave McKeag, principal at Valley Middle School in Apple Valley — which piloted a healthier-lunch program in the fall of 2003 that has been replicated in other schools — put it, “You don’t balance budgets by selling kids sugar.”

At the elementary school level in St. Paul, vending machines aren’t an issue because they aren’t available to students. But the restriction on parties is expected to draw fire from parents used to marking their child’s birthday with cake or brownies for the class.

“It may not be popular right away,” said Patrick Bryan, principal at Jackson Magnet elementary. “It takes time to change habits and practices that are almost traditional in families,” he said.

Part of the health education process at Jackson centers on diabetes, a condition increasingly affecting children and adolescents. The focus is on type 2 diabetes, which has been linked to obesity and inactivity.

Jackson is one of four St. Paul schools participating in a grant-funded diabetes-prevention program this year. The school’s recent parent-teacher conferences were turned into a de facto health fair. Attendees received pedometers and optional body-mass-index screenings along with information on nutrition and exercise.

In a culture that encourages sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy food choices for kids, said Yu, schools can make a difference through what they serve and what they teach.

“We have this great opportunity to create a foundation for (students’) lifelong positive health habits,” he said. “The bottom line for me is we have an epidemic, and we need to address the epidemic.”

Yu said he envisions the wellness policy as a “starting point” for partnerships with area health care and business leaders focusing on student health.

“We have the capacity and ability to reach 42,000 kids at a time when health needs are becoming more and more evident.”

Doug Belden can be reached at dbelden@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5136.

Wellness policy would regulate school snacks

A law passed in 2004 requires all school districts that receive federal funding for meal programs to adopt wellness policies for 2006-07. St. Paul’s proposed rules would apply to food and drinks sold in vending machines, a la carte lines and school stores and through fundraisers. Here are the details:

Food

Must have 7 or fewer grams of fat per serving and have a first ingredient other than sugar. (“Low fat” is considered 3 or fewer grams per serving under federal guidelines. Tostitos tortilla chips have about 7 fat grams per serving; the baked version has about 1.) Availability of food with high trans fats and saturated fats, sodium and sugar is to be minimized.

Beverages

— Allowed: Water, 100 percent fruit juice, low-fat and fat-free milk

— Banned: Pop, sports drinks, iced teas, fruit-based drinks containing less than 100 percent fruit juice, most caffeinated drinks

Allowable portion sizes

— 1 ounce for cookies.

— 1.25 ounces for chips, crackers, popcorn, cereal, trail mix, nuts, seeds, dried fruit or jerky.

— 2 ounces for cereal bars, granola bars, pastries, muffins, doughnuts, bagels and other bakery items.

— 4 ounces for frozen desserts.

— 8 ounces for yogurt.

— 12 ounces for drinks (16 ounces for milk, no limit for water).

Class parties

Those involving food during the school day should be limited to one per class per month. No more than one food or beverage that does not meet the above guidelines should be served at each party.

What’s not covered

— These rules apply only to students. Guidelines for staff have not been determined.

— It is not yet clear how the rules will apply to concession stands at school sporting events and other activities.

— Requirements for physical activity have not been significantly increased, mostly because of budgetary limitations.

— The new guidelines are aimed primarily at individually sold items, not food served as part of regular breakfast and lunch menus. But these are getting healthier, too. One example: Doughnuts are being replaced by whole-wheat muffins starting this spring.

To learn more

— State resource guide on wellness policy law: http://education.state.mn.us/mde/static/Local%20Wellness%20Policy-guide%20for%2 0development.doc Junk food crackdown

The St. Paul district is considering a plan to control fat content, sugar and portion size in vending machines, in cafeterias and through fundraisers.

Why: Concerns about the number of overweight schoolchildren.

Food: Portions must have no more than 7 grams of fat and a main ingredient other than sugar.

Beverages: Water, 100 percent fruit juice and low-fat and fat-free milk are OK. But pop, sports drinks, iced teas, diluted fruit-based drinks and most caffeinated drinks would be banned.

Class parties: Limited to one per class per month; one food or beverage exception to guidelines per party.

To learn more: www.sppscafe.org

What wouldn’t be allowed

— Cocal-Cola Classic, 20 ounces, 2.5 servings, 27 grams of sugar

— Cheetos Crunchy, 2 ounces, one serving, 20 grams of fat

What could be allowed

— Dole 100 percent orange juice, 15.2 ounces, two servings, no sugar added

— Baked Lays potato chips, 11/8 ounces, one serving, 1.5 grams of fat

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Copyright (c) 2006, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

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