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FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION |
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State
Rep. Mike Gerber
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Let’s Move to Pass the Healthy Schools Act
The time is now for parents and other community leaders to push our schools to
provide a healthier school environment for our children. We need to get moving.
That was First Lady Michelle Obama’s message when she visited Fairhill
Elementary School last week to promote her "Let’s Move!" campaign to
tackle the challenge of childhood obesity.
Childhood obesity rates and health-care costs are skyrocketing, indicating that now more than ever, resources are needed to treat diet-related diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure. Removing junk food from our schools could greatly improve the health of students, provide a better learning environment and help reduce health-care costs, many of which are borne by Pennsylvania taxpayers through public health-care programs such as Cover All Kids, adultBasic, Medicaid and Medicare.
During her visit, Mrs. Obama shared the stage with local, state and federal dignitaries, but it was Albalee Rosa, a soft-spoken Fairhill sixth grader, who introduced the First Lady and stole the show as a crusader in the effort to end childhood obesity.
A member of the school’s Snackin’ Fresh Leadership Crew, part of The Food Trust’s Healthy Corner Store initiative, Albalee encourages her classmates to make healthy food choices during and after school, and works in her community to make access to healthy, kid-friendly foods a priority.
Children consume at least half of their daily calories at school because that is where they spend a majority of their time. As families encourage a healthy and active lifestyle in the home, the same should apply for when they are in school. With more than 31 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program and 11 million participating in the National School Breakfast Program, we have an opportunity to implement good nutrition guidelines in our schools.
While it sounds simple on paper for schools to offer nutritious choices, many schools instead have begun to offer an increasing number of "competitive" foods and beverages that compete with highly regulated, nutritional meals for students' attention and lunch money. More than half the country has addressed this issue, with states enacting competitive food policies, but Pennsylvania lacks similar oversight.
The Pennsylvania legislature is considering House Bill 1572, known as the Healthy Schools Act, which would modernize the 30-year-old nutrition standards for foods sold outside the food line, such as vending machines, a la carte lines and school stores. And it would reflect the concerns of Pennsylvania parents. Introduced by Rep. Mike Gerber (D-Montgomery) and co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny), the bill enjoys broad bipartisan support.
Locally, a 2004 poll commissioned by The Food Trust revealed that nine out of 10 parents of Philadelphia schoolchildren wanted water and fruit juice to be the only options in school vending machines. Similarly, a statewide Keystone poll showed eight out of 10 Pennsylvania parents wanted soda pulled from schools entirely with water, 100 percent fruit juice and milk being the only choices.
The School District of Philadelphia responded to the outrage of parents concerned with poor food choices by teaming up with The Food Trust to develop recommendations on healthy beverages and foods. The goal was to change the school environment to support healthy eating, increase physical activity and decrease the prevalence of childhood obesity, overweight and diet-related diseases. Based on the changes implemented in district, 50 percent fewer children became overweight at the end of a two-year pilot program, and this healthy food standard is now the policy.
It is important to understand previous efforts to improve food choices in schools have met stiff resistance from those who profit from pushing unhealthy foods and drinks on our children as well as the Pennsylvania School Board Association, which represents elected school board members who enjoy junk food revenues. Parents and taxpayers alike need to understand there are significant, negative, long-term health and fiscal consequences to maintaining the status quo.
Now is the time for statewide healthy nutrition policies that support the efforts of Abalee, her fellow students and Pennsylvania parents. Let’s move to enact the Healthy Schools Act.
Mike Gerber
State Representative
148th Legislative District
Yael Lehmann
Executive Director
The Food Trust