Public health approaches in schools should extend beyond health and physical education,to include school policy, the school physical and social environment, and links between schools and families and communities. Former Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher

To their credit, many school districts nationwide are adopting initiatives to improve the school environment.

Across the U.S

Oakland's school district, with 55,000 students, is one of the largest in California to enact a system-wide ban on junk food.

Four schools in Philadelphia accepted an offer of $10,000 for school supplies in exchange for devoting 1,500 school hours to nutrition education.  Nutrition education is being integrated into various subject areas and includes activities like using food labels to teach math skills or stories with nutrition themes to hone reading skills.

The offer came from a Philadelphia task force galvanized by a recent attempt by Coca-Cola to strike a $43 million deal with the district.

New York, NY, 1999: Parents’ class-action lawsuit resulted in an agreement that schools can sell only nutritious snacks during lunch.

St. Paul, MN: “5-Day Power Plus” program at 20 schools targeted multiethnic 4th and 5th graders.  Combines classroom instruction, parent involvement, food service changes at school and industry support and increased fruit/veggie consumption. (Source: Journal of Public Health, 1998)

Berkeley, CA: Numerous schools have organic gardens that teach kids about growing and cooking food.

Austin, TX: August 2003, Austin Independent School District announces “taking the lead in limiting student access to unhealthy snacks and beverages...”   They reported “the Coca-Cola Company will begin restocking all our beverage machines on secondary campuses with healthier drinks, including water, POWERade, juices and milk.”  (No beverage machines are accessible to elementary students.)

“Our snack vending machines will also be restocked with healthier choices for students.  These will include trail mix, granola bars, baked chips, pretzels and dried fruit.”

The AISD extended state regulations banning Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNVs: mainly sugary soda, gum and hard candies) in elementary and middle schools to include high schools as well.

	Kids are hungry, and they will eat what you offer them. And the vending machines empty just as fast as when they had candy and chips. Source: Principal Cathryn Knox, Orono High School, Orono, Maine

State of Maine: Fall 2003, soda and candy suppliers agreed to remove their products from every public school in the state. (Source: Portland Press Herald, December 12, 2003)

Existing state rules prevented junk food sales during school hours, but Maine’s new rule (which goes into effect in 2004) bans junk food at all times and removes soft-drink advertisements from school campuses, including scoreboards.

Find out what other states and school districts are doing to fight back.