Organic? Or Just Junk Food Added to Their Lunch Milk?—"Orange Cream and Caramel Flavored Milks Round Out Horizon Organic's Lunch Box Offerings just in time for National School Lunch Week. Lifelong eating habits are established during childhood, which is one reason Horizon Organic believes it is important to offer a wide variety of nutritious lunchbox-ready organic foods that kids enjoy." Horizon Organic Holding Corp., press release, (cached here)   "Flavored milk drinks contain more fat, sugar, cholesterol, and calories than even soft drinks do." Miami Herald, Oct. 21

  Krispy Kreme "Reward"?—"In the midst of a healthier school-food movement and childhood obesity epidemic, Krispy Kreme is rewarding students with a doughnut for every A on their report cards — up to a half-dozen per grading period." PalmBeachPost.com, August 24  " So bring your report cards to a participating Krispy Kreme store and enjoy the Krispy Kreme Math!"  KrispyKreme, Texas   More " Rewards"?— "Customers can pick up their doughnuts right when that Krispy Kreme craving hits 'em!"  krispykreme.com  "When you drop off your child, be sure to take this opportunity to buy a dozen Krispy Kremes and support the Student Activity Fund. The sale will continue those evenings during Parent/Teacher conferences."  Principal's Newsletter, October, 2003  GOTO Center for Science in the Public Interest, Nov, 2003

 New Kind of Marketing?—"The 28 children, aged nine to 11, have been undertaking a 'bread investigation' as part of a school topic on bread. During their visit they were able to cook their own pizza choosing from four toppings. Each child then returned to school with a pizza to eat for lunch. The children have been tasting several different breads at school and will eventually design and make their own breads." Epping Guardian (UK)

 School Malls Next?—"Book covers: free book covers with ads, such as Frosted Flakes and Lays Potato Chips, are distributed to students. In 1998 over half of American students, 25 million, received book covers (Consumer Reports, 1998). "Educational posters" in hallways advertise candy such as Skittles, 3 Musketeers and Starburst (Education Digest, 2000). School lunch menus. Brand name foods are served, advertised and promoted in school cafeterias (Education Digest, 2000). Reward coupons: McDonalds, Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza provide coupons for pop, French fries, burgers or pizza as a reward in reading programs (Education Digest, 2000). School buses: Some districts have sold ad space on the sides and even the tops of school buses (Time Magazine, 1999). Teaching materials: industry teaching units, videos, and contests may incorporate products, brands or corporate viewpoints (Consumer Reports, 1998). Channel One: Viewed daily in 12,000 middle schools and high schools by about 8 million teenagers, students are required to watch a 12 minute program: 10 minutes of info-news and 2 minutes of commercials (The Center for Commercial-Free Public Education). Commercial search engines, web sites and student newspapers (United States General Accounting Office, 2000). School Web sites supported by businesses that include direct advertising aimed at students and parents (The Christian Science Monitor, 2001). Athletic fields, scoreboards, gyms, libraries, playgrounds, classrooms: Corporate donors are recognized for their donations by placing their names or logos in prominent locations (New York Times, 2000). School events paid for or sponsored by corporations, i.e. Homecoming sponsored by Dr. Pepper (Time Magazine, 1999). Soft drink machines: schools are bargaining for exclusive contracts with soft drink suppliers like Coke and Pepsi (Manning, 1999). Fundraising: school groups receive a percentage of sales of branded products (United States General Accounting Office, 2000). Student organizers and other products sold in schools to students. The school receives a small percentage for items sold in return for advertising (United States General Accounting Office, 2000). MediaFamily.org "The pressure on schools to permit a broad array of marketing activities is now intense and pervasive." Commericalism in Education Research Unit, University of Arizona, July, 2003

"If a particular food or drink is promoted to them, and a vending machine is in the school, children will be led by that. They will think ‘the school has put that there, therefore this cannot be bad for me’." Sunday Herald (London)

"A computer chip controls or monitors everything that takes place, including the number of times a food-bearing spiral turns, how hot the water is that mixes with the coffee, how cold the ice cream bars are stored and what products are bought at what time of the day. The information allows Aramark employees to stock, for example, one spiral with five packages of little chocolate doughnuts, which might tend to be purchased in the morning, followed by five apple pies, which can sell better in the afternoon." Aramark Vending Machines

MACHINE FOOD REVOLT SPREADING Los Angeles, New York City, Texas Ban Sodas and Junk Foods in Schools; Philadelphia Bans Sodas  ALSO BIGFOOD "Legislation to ban or restrict soft drinks in school vending machines has been introduced in 28 state legislatures so far this year." CNN.com

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magazine supplement to
The School Lunch News

 

 

 

Notable School Lunch Menus "Pasta, pizza, calzones, stir fry, grill offered daily." "Papa Gino's pizza, garden salad, fruit cup, milk. No a la carte pizza slices will be sold. A second lunch can be purchased for $1.50" "Monday--Breakfast: breakfast pizza, cereal and toast, fruit/juice, or peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich."