Governor behind on soda bans

Marisa O’Neil

Earlier this week, Gov. Gray Davis announced that he would sign

legislation restricting soda sales on school campuses -- something

local schools have already done.

Elementary and middle schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District stopped selling carbonated soft drinks in 1997, said the

district’s director of nutrition services, Richard Greene. This year,

they put the brakes on soda sales in high schools.

“We figured that if it’s good for elementary and middle school

kids, it’s good for high school kids,” Greene said. “I don’t believe

it’s OK to say that if you’re in eighth grade you can’t buy soda, but

if you’re in ninth grade, you can.”

The district’s policy goes even further than the new legislation,

which does not cover high schools.

Under SB 677, by state Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento), schools

can only sell water, milk, sports drinks and fruit-based drinks with

at least 50% juice during school hours. Other drinks, such as colas,

could be sold up to 30 minutes before or starting 30 minutes after at

fund-raisers or at school activities.

In Newport-Mesa schools, the ban extends to an hour before and

after school.

Students may still bring their own soft drinks in their lunch.

“I anticipated that the kids might be upset, but that hasn’t

materialized,” said Robert Cunard, Estancia High School assistant

principal. “You ask a 15-year-old kid what’s healthy, and they know

the answer.”

The new legislation is designed to combat childhood obesity, which

is on the rise.

“We’re seeing startling statistics that show many of our children

have become out-of-shape, overweight and obese,” Davis said in a

press release. “Our responsibility to children is not only to educate

them, but also make sure they are as healthy of mind as they are of

body.”

According to the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, 25%

of students were overweight and 37% were considered unfit in the 68th

Assembly District, which includes Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley and

parts of Anaheim. In the 70th District, which includes Newport Beach,

Laguna Beach and Tustin, 17% were overweight and 29% were unfit.

Sharon Moore, a registered dietitian for the district, said

officials want to combat obesity through nutrition education,

encouraging exercise and by providing healthy foods on campus, as

well as keeping temptations such as soda at bay.

“If we’re promoting nutrition education, it’s silly for us to be

selling [soda],” she said. “We had kids asking us, ‘If it’s not good

for us, why are you selling it?’”

Davis also intends to sign a bill which would prevent a school

district from signing a contract with a vendor that sells it

non-nutritious beverages.

Greene said that the district does have a contract with Coca-Cola,

which pays them an annual fee that pays for a full-time nutritionist,

but the soft-drink company supplies water and noncarbonated beverages

in its vending machines. Last year, he asked them to remove the

Coca-Cola signs from the machine and to start stocking more water

than soda.

“They’re not losing any sales,” he said. “They’re just taking soda

out and putting water in. And [the children] are buying it. Water

sales have gone up in the past year.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].