Boulder Valley considers junk food policy — including what parents bring to school

By Vanessa Miller
Monday, June 22, 2009

School-food changes

The Boulder Valley School District is undergoing a multi-year school-food overhaul, and students will notice some changes this fall.

Fresh fruits and vegetables will be served every day and will be grown regionally, when possible

Bulk and antibiotic-free milk will be served in all schools

Full salad bars will be available in every school and include grains, proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables

Locally produced whole-grain bread and baked goods will be used, when possible

Highly processed ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup and added trans-fats will be eliminated

Breakfast will be offered in every school

A la carte items will be eliminated in elementary schools and reduced to select beverages and side salads at middle schools

Healthier a la carte items will be offered in high schools

Refined sugar and flour will be used minimally
If you go

What: Boulder Valley School District board meeting

When: 6 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Boulder Valley Education Center, 6500 Arapahoe Road, Boulder

BOULDER, Colo. — Gone may be the days of young kids selling candy to support their school sports team or club.

And parents may be asked to think healthier, too, instead of bringing holiday Ho Hos or birthday lollipops for the class to share.

As part of the Boulder Valley School District’s food-services overhaul, the school board is expected to adopt a new “wellness policy” aimed at eliminating unhealthy food from the school experience.

At the school board’s meeting Tuesday night, members will discuss the first draft of a proposed policy that discourages junk food at school parties and blocks the sale of candy at school-sponsored events.

“Students at the K-8 level will not be involved in, or have access to, the sale of candy, sodas, cookies and sweets at any school-sponsored event or for any fundraising activity,” according to the proposal.

The goal of the policy is to make sure the district’s healthy changes in its lunchrooms aren’t undermined by unhealthy classroom snacks or party treats, said Ann Cooper, Boulder Valley interim director of nutrition services.

As part of the school-food overhaul, Cooper said, students next year will dine on roast chicken instead of chicken nuggets and fresh pasta instead of processed macaroni and cheese.

“The district feels strongly that we have a policy to back up those changes,” Cooper said.

Some school officials and parents said they’re already operating in line with the proposed policy. Others said they want their children to have sweets at school from time to time for a birthday or Halloween party.

“Kids should be able to have some snacks and treats,” said Boulder Valley parent Jennifer Bergquist. “But it must be in moderation.”

The proposal that board members will debate Tuesday night includes 19 goals to ensure the wellness of every student and provide guidance for school leaders and parents. The policy aims to ban advertising of unhealthy food and beverages on scoreboards, coupons and school publications, among other places. It also aims to eliminate potentially harmful food additives such as growth hormones, hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup from the meals offered to students.

Along those lines, one policy goal encourages parents and staff to “be consistent with the goals of the policy when providing food as a snack or party offered during the school day.” Those parties should be held after lunch, according to the draft policy, and the same goes for ice cream socials and bake sales, which must be held in moderation and match the district’s health goals.

“At the end of the day, we definitely want our kids to be as healthy as possible,” Cooper said. “If kids are getting candy or soda during school, it makes it OK.”

Cooper said she’s not looking to be “the cupcake police” and isn’t going to take a cookie out of a child’s hand if it contains high-fructose corn syrup. But, she said, if her staff members learn that students are getting unhealthy food at a school, they’ll talk to the principal and “deal with it on an individual basis.”

And, if prohibiting the sale of candy threatens to hurt a school group, Cooper said, staff members will find nutritious alternatives to sell.

“We want to educate, inform and collaborate on a process that’s healthy,” she said.

Bergquist, who has a daughter in fourth grade at Flatirons Elementary and twins in eighth grade at Southern Hills Middle School, said she believes kids should be given a little chocolate once in a while. But, Bergquist said, she supports home-baked snacks over artificial, grocery-bought treats.

“I’m not a big processed-food fan,” she said.

University Hill Elementary Principal Leonora Velásquez said her families already bring nutritional snacks, such as fruit and veggies, and juice instead of soda.

“Our community has always been on top of that,” she said. “So I don’t think it will be too big a change for us.”

Source: Boulder Valley School District
E.W. Scripps Co.
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