If School Foods & Beverages Are Improved?

Not necessarily. Schools in California, Maine, Minnesota, Montana and Pennsylvania are proving they can maintain or even improve profits with a switch to healthy options.

	North Community High School in Minneapolis replaced most of its soda vending machines and added additional machines stocked with 100% fruit and vegetable juices and water, and slightly reduced the prices of healthy beverage options. As a result, the sale of healthier items increased and the school did not lose money.
	Vista Unified School District in California bought its own vending machines and replaced high-fat and sugar snacks with healthier options such as yogurt and granola, fruit, and cheese and crackers and offered less soda and more water, sports drinks, 100% juice, milk and smoothies. In the first year, the school generated $200,000 more in sales than it had in the previous year. Other California examples: Aptos Middle School in San Francisco, Folsom Cordova Unified School District in Sacramento County.
	A Philadelphia middle school and high school changed their vending machines’ beverage contents to remove sports drinks (sodas were already banned) and include only 100% juice, 25% juice and water. Average monthly revenue from the machines did not decrease (see table).

Assistant Principal Bryan Bass of North Community High School worked with the district’s Coca-Cola representative to provide healthier choices in vending machines. The school increased the number of vending machines from four to 16, stocked 13 machines with water or 100% juice, two with sports drinks and one with soda. They also instituted competitive pricing, selling water for $0.75, sports drinks and 100% juices for $1.00, and soda and fruit drinks for $1.25. The water machines were strategically placed in high traffic areas and students were allowed to drink water in the classroom. Today, soda sales are down, but vending profits have increased by

almost $4,000 a year and the total number of cases of beverages sold has more than doubled from the previous school year, with water being the best seller.