County health experts and dental hygienists have been lobbying the Board of Trustees against expanding student access to sugared pop and juices. Local bottlers counter that student drinking trends are already heading away from those drinks toward more healthy choices.
Students themselves appear divided. While some have supported removing pop machines altogether, the evidence of sold-out machines at the end of the day indicates others are voting with their wallets.
Sophomore Trevor Bowman said he wants the machines to stay. He noted the soda pop and sports drinks were a better deal because they came in larger containers than the juices for the same dollar cost.
"And it all tastes better than the water they've got in the school (drinking) fountains," Bowman said. "They don't taste good and they're warm."
The Board of Trustees may adopt an exclusive soft-drink contract for its high schools at Tuesday's session. MCPS Central Services supervisor Karl Jones estimated the district could earn more than $150,000 a year from an exclusive soft drink contract. Of that, about $14,000 would go to the cafeteria food service budgets and $18,000 would support extracurricular activities. The remainder would go to the high school general fund.
"I think we've gotten some pretty competitive proposals," Jones said Monday.
High school students consume about 10,500 cases a year from school vending machines and food service sales, Jones said. About two-thirds of that is soda pop, with the rest being water, juice or other noncarbonated drinks.
The high sugar content in many of those drinks has drawn objections from health experts.
"People don't need the amount of juice they're drinking," said Jacqueline Hofmann, nutrition specialist for the Missoula City-County Health Department. "We need 4 to 6 ounces a day, not 20. And the juices often have as much sugar as soft drinks do, although they have other nutrients."
The Health Department has lobbied the trustees for three things, Hofmann said. It would prefer removing all soda pop from vending machines. It would like to see the machines stocked with drinks containing at least 50 percent natural juice or low-sugar concoctions such as flavored water, teas and sports drinks. And it wants the vending contracts to allow sales of other healthy drinks that aren't in the bottler's brand line.
The school district has received seven different proposals from the Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola distributors in Missoula. Jones said a review committee recommended one of the Pepsi offers as the best offer. The contract would run through June 2008, giving Pepsi exclusive rights to sell drinks in vending machines, cafeterias and concession at events. There are exceptions for school club stores, coffee carts and some other group-sponsored events, Jones said.
Local dental hygienist Heidi Halverson said Missoula should follow the examples of school districts that have banned soft drinks. The Missoula Dental Hygiene Association is on record with concerns about the rise in diabetes, tooth decay, obesity and health problems it links to excessive sugar consumption. Halvorson argued the schools should display healthful alternatives within their halls to counter the offerings from the mass market.
"Holiday (Stationstores) is not in the business of educating our kids - our school are," Halverson said. "(With soda pop in vending machines) We're promoting unhealthyness in our schools."
Several Montana schools have recently restricted their soft-drink policies. Darby Public Schools banned carbonated soft drinks last year as well. District Clerk Caroline Rennaker said the pop sale revenue had dropped considerably, although the vending machines still carry juices and waters. While the teachers haven't seen any changes in behavior among students since the ban, there are no plans to restore pop sales, Rennaker said.
Bozeman High School is in its second year of a ban on carbonated soft drinks during school hours. According to a Sept. 15, 2004, story in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the Bozeman School District's profits from soft-drink sales dropped 40 percent in the fall semester of 2003. Since then, vending machines and student-run snack shops have replaced the sodas with juices and flavored waters at a lower profit margin.
That appears to be the trend anyway, according to Coca-Cola Bottling Co. area manager Dennis Anderson.
"As of late, nearly half the beverages sold are not carbonated soft drinks," Anderson said of soft drink market trends. "And of soft drinks, nearly 50 percent are diet or sugar-free. Diet beverages last year for us increased about 26 percent in sales. Sugar drinks were down
6 percent in sales. People are leaning toward healthy choice beverages."
Local Pepsi officials declined to comment for this story, and a regional spokesman was unavailable for comment Monday.
Pop in
The MCPS Board of Trustees meeting begins at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the school district's Business Building, 915 South Ave. W.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)