Congress May Ban Soda From School Lunch Programs

Food & Drink Weekly, May 17, 1999

Lawmakers are hoping to ensure schoolchildren a healthy lunch by closing a legal loophole that allows schools to give away sodas. A bill sponsored by Seas. Patrick Leahy, (D-Vt.), James Jeffords (R-Vt.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), would ban the free lunchtime distribution of sodas and other snacks. Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and James Walsh (R-N.Y.) are co-sponsoring similar legislation in the House.

The soft drink industry immediately denounced the allegations, saying the industry does not give away free sodas to school. And, USDA regulations forbid schools even to sell sodas, chewing gum, candy and other so-called junk foods during lunch.

Still, lawmakers, many of whom bail from daily states, introduced the legislation which would prohibit the national school lunch program from allowing the sale of foods of "minimal nutritional value," such as soft drinks and sugar candies, during federally funded meals. Schools that have soda vending machines currently are required under law to discontinue their use during breakfast and lunch.

Lawmakers charge that soda companies are avoiding the law by distributing their product to some schools free of charge. The soft drink industry has been criticized for cultivating exclusive relationships with U.S. schools by offering sports equipment, promotional materials and other gifts in exchange for exclusive contracts. When school budgets are pinched, the extra help pays for otherwise unaffordable items, administrators say.

Supporting the legislation is consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest. Executive Director Michael Jacobson said, "Schools should teach what's best -- in everything from math to social studies to health. Giving away soda pop in lunchrooms is like handing out horror comic books in English class." The consumer group says 20 years ago teens drank almost twice as much milk as soda. Now, they drink twice as much soda as milk. The average teen consumes more than a can of soda per day, with many drinking three or four cans of soda per day, the group says. "This legislation won't cure students' dietary problems, but it would plug a recently exploited loophole in the law," Jacobson said.