thoughts? i personally think it is great!!

**cmromey** · 05-04-2006, 02:15 AM

Soda Distributors to End Most School Sales

By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer 10 minutes ago

The nation's largest beverage distributors have agreed to halt nearly all sales of sodas to public schools — a step that will remove the sugary, caloric drinks from vending machines and cafeterias around the country.

The agreement was announced Wednesday by the William J. Clinton Foundation and will also likely apply to many private and parochial schools.

"This is a bold step forward in the struggle to help 35 million young people lead healthier lives," former President Clinton said at a news conference. "This one policy can add years and years and years to the lives of a very large number of young people."

Under the agreement, the companies also have agreed to sell only water, unsweetened juice and low-fat milks to elementary and middle schools. Diet sodas would be sold only to high schools.

"I don't think anyone should underestimate the influence this agreement will have," Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Beverage Association, which has signed onto the deal, said earlier Wednesday. "I think other people are going to want to follow this agreement because it just makes sense."

The agreement should reach an estimated 87 percent of the public and private school drink market, Neely said. Industry giants Cadbury Schweppes PLC, Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. and the ABA have signed on. Officials said they hope companies representing the other 13 percent of the market would follow suit.

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a collaboration between Clinton's foundation and the American Heart Association, helped broker the deal.

"The soft drink industry has decided that it won't wait to be pushed," said Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the co-chair of the alliance. "It jumped in. ... It may be the soft drink industry, but they made a very hard decision."

The move follows a mounting wave of regulation by school boards and legislators alarmed by reports of rising childhood obesity. Soda has been a particular target of those fighting obesity because of its caloric content and popularity among children.

Still, the deal imposes stricter drink regulations than are currently in place for nearly 35 million public school students.

"This is really the beginning of a major effort to modify childhood obesity at the level of the school systems," said Robert H. Eckel, the president of the Heart Association, adding that the alliance would also be working to put healthier foods in schools.

John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, which compiles extensive data on the beverage industry, said the agreement would have no impact on the $63 billion beverage industry's bottom line.

"The sale of sugar-carbonated sodas in schools is a tiny, tiny part of their overall volume," said Sicher. "Financially, on the big companies, it will have virtually no impact."

He applauded the move, however, saying "The impact is more in terms of responsibility and accountability to the consumer."

Under the agreement, high schools will still be able to sell low-calorie drinks that contain less than 10 calories per serving, as well as drinks that are considered nutritious, such as juice, sports drinks and low-fat milk. The "nutritious" drinks will be limited to 12-ounce servings, Neely said.

Elementary schools will sell 8-ounce servings of the "nutritious" drinks, and middle school kids will get 10-ounce-size drinks.

Whole milk will no longer be offered to any schools, Neely said.

School sales of sports drinks, diet sodas and bottled water have been on the rise in recent years, while sugary soft drink purchases by students have been falling, according to an ABA report released in December. But regular soda, averaging 150 calories a can, is still the most popular drink, accounting for 45 percent of drinks sold in schools in 2005, according to the report.

Diana Garza, a spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co., said in a telephone interview that "these voluntary guidelines escalate ... the shift to lower calorie, more nutritious beverages."

A man who answered the phone at Cadbury Schweppes' London headquarters said no one was available for comment. A call to PepsiCo Inc. was not immediately returned.

The new rules will apply to beverages sold on school grounds during the regular school day and at after-school activities such as band and choir practice, said Jay Carson, a spokesman for ClintonBut sales at events such as school plays, band concerts and sporting events, where a significant portion of the audience are adults, won't be affected, he said.

The deal will be most easily enforced at vending machines, where students buy most of their drinks, Neely said.

How quickly the changes take hold will depend in part on individual school districts' willingness to alter existing contracts, The Alliance for a Healthier Generation said in a release. The companies will work to implement the changes at 75 percent of the nation's public schools before the 2008-2009 school year, and at all public schools a year later.

Dozens of states have considered legislation on school nutrition this year, but about 32 states still have no legislative or regulatory policy regulating the sale of drinks in schools, according to the American Heart Association.

Lawmakers in Connecticut voted last week to prohibit schools from selling regular and diet soda as well as electrolyte replacement drinks such as Gatorade.

The agreement follows an August decision by the ABA to adopt a policy limiting soft drinks in high schools to no more than 50 percent of the selections in vending machines. Unlike the agreement announced Wednesday, that recommendation was not binding.

Most elementary schools are already soda-free.

___

Associated Press Writers Karen Matthews, Nahal Toosi and Ula Ilnytzky contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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**Ragamuffin** · 05-04-2006, 02:56 AM

I think it's great, but I wonder if and when my school will follow suit. We own and stock our own beverage machine. We have improved to the point of not allowing any soda during the school day, but they still drink lots of sugary sports drinks and 10% juice drinks and that sort of thing.

I also wonder what the impact of limiting sugary beverages on behavior will be. On the down side, I don't think enough parents will follow suit at home.

**Voilet** · 05-04-2006, 03:45 AM

Perhaps I'm just a soda-filled, biased teen, but I don't think its all that great.

I don't drink much soda. I never buy them at school (Our school only has Coke Products and "Healthy" Drinks like Powerade, orange Juice, etc.) I DO think Middle schools should only carry that horrible tasting Diet sodas, if they must carry soda pop. But I believe High Schoolers are old enough to make choices for themselves.

At my school we are allowed to buy stuff from the Soda Machines before school, at lunch, and after school. We are not allowed to drink them in the hallways because we will obviously spill them. I'd say only one teacher out of the whole building lets us eat or drink in her class. I can't blame her. We don't get to go to lunch until around 12:40pm, and half the time the food isn't worth eating. I'm glad I have friends who bring their lunches so I can bum some carrots or something off of them.

Personally I think America is way too obsessed with being over weight anyways. Someone is always making up a new diet. Or a new Diet pill. Or new way to 'Get rid of that flabby stomach!", and etc. Its kind of pathetic if you ask me. After all, you don't need 'abs of STEEL' to be healthy.

Arg. So sorry for my lame reply. I'm super sleepy, but I had to reply to this.

**Dr Dailey** · 05-04-2006, 06:50 AM

I think it is a great idea. We do not sell any soda in our school. However, I do not believe it will have a great impact on the eating habits of the kids. Our students bring soda to school. It comes to the parents controlling what their children consume and teaching them good eating habits from an early age. If my parents failed in one area it was this, thus I have suffred with a weight problem my entire life.

**Ima Teacher** · 05-04-2006, 12:40 PM

We have a couple of snack vending machines and some soda machines, but they're not for student use. They sell a few after school for kids staying for after-school activities, though, but nothing during school hours.

**JohnBoy** · 05-05-2006, 12:22 AM

We have been selling drinks for some time, although we recently stopped with the soft drinks because we accepted $$ for free and reduced lunch. I drink mostly soft drinks myself, but I think it is a bad idea to sell them during school hours- my 9th graders can't handle them- they bounce off the wall like elementary school kids.

**Voilet** · 05-05-2006, 02:02 AM

Originally Posted by JohnBoy

my 9th graders can't handle them- they bounce off the wall like elementary school kids.

Would you rather them be asleep? But I know what you mean. At my school the whole highschool is hyper. It can be pretty annoying, but so many funny stories are created this way.

Today I was talking to my Computer Applications teacher about this. I didn't ask for her opinion, but I did ask about what we did with our profits we gained from the Soda Machines.

I'll tell you plain and simple, my school is pretty lame. We're a small, southern town. I wouldn't say my school is 'poor', but we don't have a lot of money in my opinion. At the end of every year, while giving out Letters, Pins, and other awards, they always hand out prizes for attendence. Turns out, the prizes they buy are paid for by the soda machine profit. So, its disappointing that this stuff will go away. But thankfully I graduate in 2008, and thus, most likely won't have to worry abut this. -smirks- I guess the younger classes shall have to suffer the lack of sugar and caffeine. Oh well, at least its not me.

**JohnBoy** · 05-05-2006, 02:28 AM

Would you rather them be asleep?

Hmm...yes. It's the lesser of many evils- a sleeping person only damages their own learning; the hyperactive damage the learning of many. Besides, its easier to wake somebody up than to settle them down. But that money thing....our principal fought tooth and nail to keep the drink machines toppling out soda, because it paid for a good many things. He made it a point to bring that up in a faculty meeting because a majority of the faculty wanted the machines shut down in any case, and have for a long time. (It does make for a messy school).

**Dawn** · 05-05-2006, 03:52 AM

Originally Posted by Voilet

Personally I think America is way too obsessed with being over weight anyways. Someone is always making up a new diet. Or a new Diet pill. Or new way to 'Get rid of that flabby stomach!", and etc. Its kind of pathetic if you ask me. After all, you don't need 'abs of STEEL' to be healthy.

Both adult and childhood obesity are at the highest rate they've ever been. If schools don't offer unhealthy choices, they won't be contributing to the problem (which is becoming a problem).

It's hypocritical of schools to teach about the importance of health and nutrition and to offer largely unhealthy food choices. If students (high school students, who you say should be able to make their own choices) wish to, they can still bring sodas and snack foods to school, but schools shouldn't be selling it.

**Voilet** · 05-05-2006, 04:09 AM

Originally Posted by Dawn

Both adult and childhood obesity are at the highest rate they've ever been. If schools don't offer unhealthy choices, they won't be contributing to the problem (which is becoming a problem).

It's hypocritical of schools to teach about the importance of health and nutrition and to offer largely unhealthy food choices. If students (high school students, who you say should be able to make their own choices) wish to, they can still bring sodas and snack foods to school, but schools shouldn't be selling it.

If people really wanted to lose weight they would go on a diet themselves, and exercise regularly. Some people have genetic problems to where its extreamly hard for them to lose weight.

In my opinion, the blame for child obesity partially rests on their parents shoulder. (The other parts go to genetics, and the child itself) Whoever raises the child, most likely buys the groceries as well. They made a choice to buy that bag of chips, or suger coated cereal.

But why should the rest of the student population pay because a good portion of the country makes bad choices?

But I believe one of the other issues we face is apathy. Some people don't worry about their weight until it reaches that certain number. And then THATS when they worry, "Oh gee. Looks like I'm going to have to go on a diet" Children will obviously care, because everyone knows over weight children are usually bullied because of their weight.

But I believe all this weight craze is driving our teenagers insane. YOu have no idea how many female friends of mine constantly complain about being 'Fat'. And I'll tell you right now, theres no way they're even CLOSE to being over weight. Its also disturbing to hear "Auugh. Man. If I eat a snowcone AND a burger I"m going to get fat!". A snowcone is just ice and flavoring. (ANd for those who are curious, This week we've been cooking our own burgers, hotdogs, chicken legs, and selling snowcones as a fundraiser for a town nearby that was wrecked by tornados)

And while I'm pointing fingers, why not slap the Candy Bar industry too? Through out the year, we sell MANY candybars for fundraisers. I know that in my school both FBLA and BETA sell candybars. And tonight at our FBLA meeting one girl recieved an award for selling the most boxes. She sold FIFTEEN boxes of candybars. Most people are lucky to sell one full box. Why not ban schools from selling them?
Because most school organizations would lose their funding.

I'm very sorry if I rambled any, but this is my opinion.

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