The New York Times
October 3, 2011
To the editor:
Re: “Schools Dangle Carrot Snacks, but It’s a Tough Sale,” Oct. 3: This article portrays a few high schools in Long Island, New York and how they have worked to create better food options for their students. It highlights a positive way to encourage healthy eating habits in school environments that often don’t have nutritious options.
Testing new, healthy vending machines is a great way for students to practice what they learn in school about nutrition and how to eat healthy in their everyday lives. However, I do not understand why schools only target vending machines as oppose to cafeteria food as well. With the increasing rate of obesity in children, healthy snack options for younger kids would have a large impact on the choices children make now and in the future. Coming from a public health mind-set, it would be more beneficial to take a preventative stance and target elementary schools to try to change eating habits at a younger age.
If children are introduced to healthy options in vending machines during elementary school then they are more likely to choose healthier snacks at an older age. By not only teaching them about nutrition in school, but also modeling healthy food options, children will naturally pick up these habits.
Sara Veliz
2710 Channing Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
(818) 309-3179
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/education/04vending.html?pagewanted=1
Sara, thanks for sharing that interesting article! I related to it because while I was in middle school, our vending machines were converted (I think as the result of a state law not mentioned in the New York Time article.) Sodas were out and instead the vending machines were stocked with Powerade and flavored milk. This was good because students definitely decreased their soda consumption, but the Powerade and flavored milk also had quite a lot of sugar! And I remember very clearly that my high school's cafeteria sold these huge chocolate chip cookies that left a ton of grease on the napkins they were served with. I really agree with you that cafeteria food is a huge problem that needs to be addressed. After all, students usually get much bigger portions from the cafeteria than from a vending machine. I think that one reason why changes in vending machine food seems (from this article) to be happening more than changes in cafeteria food is that it is much more expensive to offer healthy foods in cafeterias. I read somewhere that the type of pre-prepared food that is served in cafeteria has to be loaded with fats in order to taste food. I don't know how true that is, but it does seem like serving healthier food would be more expensive - if only because the large food service providers don't readily offer this option. At present, I think it is definitely beyond the scope of many cafeterias to serve only fresh, healthy food. I would suspect that there is also a great fear that students would simply abandon the cafeteria is lower fat and healthier items were served, and then the school would experience decreased revenue - a scary notion in these times of continuous budget cuts. Unfortunately, it looks like there are a number of obstacles to getting school cafeterias to serve healthier foods.
ReplyDeleteI also wholeheartedly agree with you that high school is a bit late in the game to try to introduce healthy foods and healthy eating habits!
I agree with both of you. As your title "Schools Dangle Carrot Snacks, But It's A Tough Sale" suggests, the reality is that Powerade and flavored milk does not taste as good as soda, nor are carrot snacks as satisfying as Doritos or M&Ms. I'd be interested to see if vending machine drink sales decreased (and by how much) after the soda was taken out at your school, Mara. I know that the decreased sales (which I believe are pretty significant) are the reason that most vending machines are not filled with healthier options. Though you can educate people all you want and at an early age, a challenge would definitely be that healthier options simply do not taste as good and vending machine sales would go down. Many schools are also situated near drug stores or fast food restaurants, so there is no guarantee that students (especially those in middle are high schools who are allowed to wander around before or after school) would decrease their junk food consumption: if not from vending machines, they may just get it from another source.
ReplyDelete(Elizabeth Hui)
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting. I also agree with you that schools should target their cafeteria foods. There were vending machines at my middle and high schools, but a lot less people bought things from them as compared to those who got school lunches. It’s also very difficult to have healthier food choices while preserving its tastes and maintaining its sales because it’s like a tradeoff. It is unlikely to have all three at the same time, but we should keep in mind that healthier school food should be top priority for children.
ReplyDelete-Helen Woo