Kansas Health Institute | Information For Policy Makers. Health for Kansans.

TOPEKA — The Kansas State Board of Education on Wednesday voted to stick to a scheduled Aug. 1 implementation of a new vending machine policy despite a request from the beverage industry for a delay.

The board in May approved a proposal requiring schools by Aug. 1 to adopt the state’s “advanced” guidelines for food and beverages sold in vending machines. By Aug 1, 2011, schools must meet the state’s “exemplary” guidelines.

The advanced guidelines set standards for the nutritional value of foods and beverages in school vending machines and require that 50 percent of items meet nutritional guidelines.

Soda and other carbonated beverages would be prohibited. Water, milk, sports drinks and juice blends would be allowed. The vending machines could only be available during certain times of the day.

The 2011 guidelines would further restrict times the machines could be operational and limit the beverages sold to water, low-fat or skim milk, sports drinks and 100 percent juice.

Education department officials had said a large majority of Kansas schools already meet the 2010 guidelines.

Beverage industry survey

Ron Hein, speaking Tuesday for the Kansas Beverage Association, said a survey of beverage companies that stock school vending machines suggest far fewer schools meet the new guidelines than the education department has claimed.

The beverage companies reported that only four of 80 school districts they service met the advanced guidelines and among those not meeting the guidelines was the Wichita school district, the state’s largest.

According to an education department survey of school districts during the 2008-2009 school year, 90 percent reported they met at least the advanced guidelines.

But Hein, in a letter to the board, said that was, “vastly overstated.”

The board approved the proposal assuming most schools already met the guidelines.

Hein said imposing the guidelines on Aug. 1 would have a, “major negative impact on existing vending contracts and school revenue.”

Schools share in the profits from vending machine sales.

The guidelines opposed by the beverage industry closely follow those of the Institute of Medicine, said Jodi Mackey, director of Children Nutrition and Wellness at the Kansas Department of Education. They were developed by experts in nutrition, nutrition education and physical education.

The beverage association and representatives from the Wichita Vending told the education board they’d prefer the state use guidelines developed by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation that would allow a greater variety of beverages but significantly reduce calories in vended drinks. The alliance includes the American Heart Association, the William J. Clinton Foundation and other groups.

The alliance guidelines have been adopted by the beverage industry, Hein said.

They would allow the sale of certain lower-calorie beverages such as sweetened teas and diet sodas.

Support for stricter guidelines

But in a letter published Tuesday in the Topeka Capital-Journal, Ginny Ehrlich, executive director of the alliance, said the group supported the state school board’s decision to adopt more stringent guidelines.

“We applaud the efforts happening in Kansas and across the country to help turn the tide against childhood obesity,” Ehrlich wrote, noting that the guidelines developed by her group in negotiations with the beverage industry were only a “first step towards creating healthier schools.”

The beverage companies estimated the new requirements could result in the loss of thousands of dollars in school revenues.

Supporters of the new requirements also spoke to the board.

They cited studies supporting the Institute of Medicine’s guidelines, including reports that students liked the guidelines and findings that showed little or no economic loss when they were implemented.

Steve Coen, chairman of the Governor’s Council on Fitness, told the board that when diet sodas are available, they are consumed instead of healthier drinks such as milk and juice.

At least 22 other states have enacted similar requirements, said Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Roderick Bremby.

The speakers approached the board during its scheduled public comment session on Tuesday.

Start from scratch

Board member Sue Storm made a motion to revisit the wellness policy during the board’s Wednesday morning meeting, but the motion failed.

“My goal would have been to start from scratch,” she said. “Other proposals have come forward that have significant merit but have not been considered.”

Storm and other board members said any future discussions about the wellness policy should also include talk about increasing the amount of physical education during the school day.

“Kids are growing human beings,” said board member Dave Dennis. “They can’t sit there like stones all day and be expected to be OK. Our bodies just don’t function that way.”

No date was set for those discussions.