HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - A state leader wants to ban junk food in South Carolina schools, and instead giving students healthier food choices.
The new bill targets lunches and the snacks available and sold inside of schools. It puts heavy restrictions on things like portion size, calories, and fat content. It also limits the kinds of drinks kids will have access to.
The bill is aimed at eliminating less healthy food items sold at schools. For example, when it comes to snacks, it can't be more than 200 calories. Things like a typical plain white bagel or a bag or a snack-sized potato chips would not be allowed. When it comes to juice drinks, it has to be 100 percent fruit juice with no added sweeteners, and no more than 120 calories for every cup.
Size restrictions will vary from elementary to high school.
The Horry County Schools Food Service Director says one thing the proposed law doesn't cover: food items sold through school fundraisers. According to the director, there are no regulations in place, but says that could change when new federal guidelines take into effect in 2015. In the meantime, some local principals will use their best judgment before approving an in-school fundraiser.
"Certainly we rather provide nutritional-type product for fundraisers versus dessert-type products like candy and ice cream," says St. James Middle School Principal Dwight Boykin, "but anyway, you can't avoid it all the time."
In Horry County, all of the bill's requirements are in place. The food service director says a few years ago, the county adopted a new set of health guidelines, and therefore county schools have been ahead of the curve when it comes to most state and federal rules. St. James Elementary Principal Marybeth Heath says if it will add healthier options for students, she welcomes any new guidelines.
"If those guidelines help our children as they get older, then I think that's important," she says. "There's a lot of thought that goes into that, with medical reasons, and health reasons as children get older."
The new bill was introduced last week and is currently being reviewed by the Committee of Education and Public Works.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WMBF, a Raycom Media Station.
