Relates to the sale of certain foods in vending machines on school grounds or property

1 Co-sponsor

• Kemp Hannon

BILL NUMBER:S3024

Title of bill

An act to amend the education law, in relation to the sale of certain foods in vending machines on school grounds or property

Purpose

The purpose of this legislation is to combat childhood obesity by providing nutritious foods and beverages in school vending machines.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends the Education Law by adding a new Section 915-a. The terms of any contract entered into between a school district and a business or corporation for the operation of a vending machine or the granting of exclusive rights, shall comply with the provisions of this section. If a school district is a party to a contract which provides for periodic renewals, the term of such renewal must comply with the provisions of this section.

Section 2 establishes the effective date.

Justification

President Obama signed the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of 2010 (Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010) to the acclaim of health experts, educational leaders, public officials and civic organizations throughout the United States. The Act enable the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to set nutritional standards for all foods regularly sold in schools during the school day, including vending machines.

The USDA has promulgated rules establishing these nutritional standards and is now soliciting public comment. (Federal Register, Volume 76, No. 9, Part III, Department of Agriculture, January 13, 2011). The rules incorporate the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) 2009 Guidelines (formulated in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) establishing nutritional standards for school meals, foods and beverages that are sold in the schools. The USDA has worked with IOM in the past, for example, it solicited the IOM's expertise in updating the food requirements for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children

The need for healthy foods in schools is urgent; childhood obesity is commonly acknowledged as a public health threat. It is also recognized as a complex condition requiring a variety of approaches to reduce, and hopefully eliminate it. One strategy is making healthy foods available to students during the school day while eliminating those foods with poor to no nutritional value.

In Connecticut, the availability of unhealthy foods was reduced in school districts where state nutritional standards were implemented for those foods sold outside of school meals. (The Impact of Removing Snacks of Low Nutritional Value from Middle Schools, Society for Public Health Education, Health Education & Behavior 2009, published online February 2009, http://heb.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/36/999). Not only did

students consume healthier foods at school, they did not increase their consumption of unhealthy foods at home.

Stocking foods with healthy nutritional standards in school vending machines is not problematic for the National Automatic Merchandising Association, NAMA. Vending machine providers have already launched a Fit Pick Program whereby vending machine foods are lower in fat and sugar incorporating the 35-10-25 ratio, which means no more than: 35% of total calories from fat, 10% of calories from saturated fat, 35% of total product weight from sugar.

This legislation would ensure that these nutritional standards are adopted by the public school systems throughout the State as quickly as possible.

Legislative history

2011-12 S.4552; 2009-10 S.7756; 2007-08 S.4940; 2005-06 S.5446.

Fiscal implications

None

Effective date

This act shall take effect on July 1 after it has become law.