Howard County school officials are hailing an agreement by the nation?s largest beverage distributors to limit the sale of soda in schools, but they maintain that their recently passed wellness policy is more stringent.
“I think it helps to address obesity, and the fact that you can get the beverage companies to buy into it will help with issues of student health and obesity,” said Schools Superintendent Sydney Cousin.
The school system?s policy prohibits the sale of sodas during the school day, and sodas, iced teas and sports drinks only can be sold at the secondary level and must make up no more than 50 percent of the vending machine selections.
Beverage sales in the cafeteria are limited to water, flavored water, flavored and unflavored milk, 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices, and fruit and vegetable juices with at least 10 percent juice and 100 percent vitamin C, the policy states.
Cousin said he?s also working on getting at least one of the county?s 12 high schools to volunteer for a pilot program to eliminate all junk food and sodas from vending machines after school.
“We?re in negotiation and hope to have one within a week,” he said.
According to the deal announced Wednesday by the William J. Clinton Foundation, the nation?s largest beverage distributors agreed to sell only water, unsweetened juice and low-fat milk toelementary and middle schools, said Jay Carson, a spokesman for former President Bill Clinton. Diet sodas would be sold only to high schools.
Cadbury Schweppes PLC, Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and the American Beverage Association have all signed onto the deal, Carson said. The American Beverage Association represents the majority of school vending bottlers.
Cousin said the school system will examine details of the agreement as it relates to current contracts with the vendors.
Under the agreement, high schools still can purchase drinks such as diet and unsweetened teas, diet sodas, sports drinks, flavored water, seltzer and low-calorie sports drinks from distributors.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
