[MaynardMeek]

They should have ALCAR and sesathin and cAMPH and green tea for sale!!! :-)

[Iron Warrior]

Personally, if schools wanted to have healthier kids than they should stop cutting after school sports activities, after school fitness programs and educate kids on healthy eating habits. Banning the sale of junk food won't stop kids from eating junk food. The law looks pure like cable mentioned but what the hell do we do if it leads to more stupid laws in the future such as banning junk food in school, or hell, rationing food

[-2z-]

I remember when I was in school....there was no candy, soft drinks, etc. There was just the food you got in the cafeteria. I think I was in 8th grade when there were 2 soft drink machines that were put in.....but they didn't work until after school was out.
Same when I got into high school, except in the locker room....and all they had there was gatorade in a can....with a lovely metal taste.

[CDB]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn

Now let's see them get some actually healthy food into school lunches.

Super Size Me was a great movie. I've got no problem with the schools not serving crap to the kids, I just know it won't stop there. A lot of parents will be saying the same thing as your quote above, and guess what? That healthy food usually costs more to get and store, but the kids need healthy snacks if you're going to take the crap away, so here is the first direct cost of the law they passed. Someone is going to have to pay for all that healthy food.

[BigP0ppa3]

Basically, the state doesn't have as much control as they (and we) thought they did....

http://www.bergenrecord.com/page.php...N3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==

Junk food isn't quite banned yet
Acting Governor Codey can't tell Northern Valley Regional High Schools to quit offering fried potato chips. Or River Dell High School students to stop their Valentine's Day candy fund-raisers. Or Pascack Valley High to remove soda and candy from its vending machines.

It turns out the state's ground-breaking ban on candy, soda and high-fat snacks in schools doesn't apply to thousands of kids in Bergen County. The state Department of Agriculture, which promulgated the policy announced this week, has no jurisdiction over the 43 districts that are not part of the federal school lunch program or have only a few low-income kids.

"If they don't participate in my programs, they can serve whatever they want - unfortunately," said Kathy F. Kuser, director for New Jersey's Department of Agriculture's division on nutrition, whose husband has dubbed her Queen of the Hot Lunches. "I can only hope that those districts will implement the policy voluntarily."

One-quarter of the "untouchable" districts statewide are in Bergen County: Demarest, Glen Rock, Hasbrouck Heights, Haworth, Woodcliff Lake, and the regional high schools of Northern Highlands, Northern Valley, Pascack Valley, Ramapo-Indian Hills and River Dell. The only school in Passaic County not covered by the new regulations is the Classical Academy charter school of Clifton.

Jan Furman, superintendent of Northern Valley Regional High Schools, said if her district isn't required to follow the new rules, she would get input from her students on whether to observe them.

"Part of our job is to educate them about how to make the best choices for themselves,'' she said, noting that many students use their cellphones to order pizza and Chinese food for delivery to school. "With all due respect to the governor, I don't think mandating to students is always the best way to go at this age.''

On the other hand, Joseph Luongo, superintendent of Hasbrouck Heights, said even if his district is exempted, it would still comply with the rules.

"We do have a large number of kids overweight in our schools,'' he said. "If we give them healthy choices, maybe they'll choose the right products.''

He said vending machines selling sodas and sweet snacks in the high school are turned off until school ends, but he wants to cut out the sugary options. He said kids would probably object, but "I get my head chopped off occasionally anyway.''

The only way the state can impose a policy on every district is by legislative action, and for now, the only bill under consideration is far less restrictive than the governor's new policy. The Assembly recently approved a ban on foods that list sugar as the first ingredient or snacks that contain more than 8 grams of fat or 2 grams of saturated fat per serving. But that only applies to vending machines, and only at public elementary and middle schools. Of high schools, it only requires that vending machines contain at least one healthy food and one healthy beverage. A version of the bill is also sitting before the full Senate.

To be sure, the vast majority of districts are covered by the governor's new policy, and will soon be saying goodbye to chips that are not baked and doughnuts that are not low-fat. The plan will be phased in over time and fully implemented by September 2007.

The state Department of Agriculture first proposed the changes after the U.S. Surgeon General in 2001 called obesity a national epidemic. The clincher was an alarming 2003 state Department of Health and Senior Services study of 2,300 sixth-graders from 40 schools. It found that although 15 percent of sixth-graders nationwide are obese, the figure in New Jersey was a full 20 percent. An additional 18 percent were found to be overweight.

Some vendors have been phasing out unhealthy foods. Mark Vidovich, president of Pomptonian Food Service in Fairfield, which works in many Bergen and Passaic county districts, is one of them. He has slowly replaced high-fat chips with baked ones, loaded his vending machines with 100 percent juices and added more fresh fruit and vegetables to his cafeteria lines. He puts the healthiest options at eye level and promotes them with an "A+" logo. And while students initially balked at the baked chips, he said, they now seem to prefer them.

Nevertheless, Vidovich customizes menus according to each school's wishes. Some districts worry that if they too severely restrict choices, kids in open campuses will leave for lunch, which can be a security risk - prompting one Morris County district to add sodas so they could require students to stay on campus. When another Morris district eliminated sodas, he said, students boycotted the cafeteria.

"They argued, 'Many of us are old enough to vote and enlist in the military, but we're not able to make choices for ourselves in what we have for lunch?' There are compelling arguments on both sides of this topic."

Lorraine Brooks, principal of River Dell Regional High School, said her school had already cut down on the number of soda machines and the cafeteria service was providing more whole grains, salads and grilled dishes. "We cut down on candy tremendously,'' she said. "Unfortunately, we do sell French fries.

"We're happy for the new guidelines, and we'll make them work,'' she said. "If we're teaching kids about nutrition in the classroom, we have to practice what we teach.''

E-mail: padawer@northjersey.com and brody@northjersey.com

[hamper19]

Originally Posted by BigP0ppa3

Jan Furman, superintendent of Northern Valley Regional High Schools, said if her district isn't required to follow the new rules, she would get input from her students on whether to observe them.

Geniuses!!!!!!

[BigP0ppa3]

Originally Posted by hamper19

Geniuses!!!!!!

That school is down the street from me.

[CDB]

Originally Posted by BigP0ppa3

"If they don't participate in my programs, they can serve whatever they want - unfortunately," said Kathy F. Kuser, director for New Jersey's Department of Agriculture's division on nutrition, whose husband has dubbed her Queen of the Hot Lunches. "I can only hope that those districts will implement the policy voluntarily."

And if they don't do so voluntarily, guess what?

Jan Furman, superintendent of Northern Valley Regional High Schools, said if her district isn't required to follow the new rules, she would get input from her students on whether to observe them.

I think people might actually be surprised by the feedback they get from these kids. I remember being in school and being pissed off when all they had was tons of greasy, odd tasting mystery foods.

[Matthew D]

I was the same way.. or the damn green beans that were cooked within an inch of their lives.. or better yet, green peas in the chilli and having so much grease it would make an oil slick on the top of the chilli..

[Nullifidian]

We do have a large number of kids overweight in our schools,'' he said. "If we give them healthy choices, maybe they'll choose the right products.''

THAT is what I like to see in our government officials. Notice the key word here is CHOICE. He wants to widen their options to include healthier foods. More options, so they don't have to chose between one extreme and the other.

[CDB]

Originally Posted by Matthew D

I was the same way.. or the damn green beans that were cooked within an inch of their lives.. or better yet, green peas in the chilli and having so much grease it would make an oil slick on the top of the chilli..

Jesus, I remember the chili at my school. And the lomein noodles. Horrible. I think I actually bought lunch three times in my entire time at school. Pretty much packed a sandwich the whole time, or left for lunch and went to the deli. That's when I actually showed up for school of course. Senior year in high school my friends and I were pretty much MIA most of the time.

[davisville64]

I'm in high school and I am all in favor of this law. I think they should replace the candy machines with protein machines. I would love to see BSN machine outside of the gym rather than a hersheys one.

[BigVrunga]

CDB you always have the *hottest* chicks in your avatar...

[CDB]

Originally Posted by BigVrunga

CDB you always have the *hottest* chicks in your avatar...

I try. This current one has a special place in my crotch. I mean heart.

What a set of wet knockers. Could you imagine this one in a wet t-shirt contest? Or better yet just drunk and ready to go at it?

[liltwisted360]

this is the stupidest law ive ever heard.... how is it any different then kids not being able to buy cigarettes at a store because they're not mature enough to make proper decisions.. whats next to buy food you have to be 18 years old.

[Brooklyn]

I hate Bergen County. That place exemplifies my contempt for New Jersey. Hasbrouck Heights is filled with upper middle class families who think their kids are actually getting a good education lol. Northern Valley kids get to use cell phones in schools? Most NJ schools ban cell phones, but that's an example of rich people getting special treatment that less well-off students don't.

Quote:
Jan Furman, superintendent of Northern Valley Regional High Schools, said if her district isn't required to follow the new rules, she would get input from her students on whether to observe them.
I think people might actually be surprised by the feedback they get from these kids. I remember being in school and being pissed off when all they had was tons of greasy, odd tasting mystery foods.

I hated school lunches too, and especially looking back at the crap they were serving I am glad I skipped lunch on most days. Most kids do not know how to make these decisions for themselves. Their parents don't, so how would they?. If you take the typical teen and say, "Here is some alcohol. It's legal now for you to drink all you want," I can't see the kids exercising self control and not getting intoxicated every day. The same is true of junk food. If you sell kids Doritos and Pepsi for lunch as part of what should be a balanced diet, don't be surprised when you have a bunch of fat, lazy kids with attention problems for a student body.

The role of the public school system is to provide a positive learning environment and protect children from harm. (Does anyone question that?) The foods in question, without a doubt, cause harm. Therefore, it is not excessive intervention to remove said foods from the menu. This is all a matter of perspective and no matter how much we would like to respect freedom of choice, it is the absolute mandate of the school system to protect the student, en loco parentis.

[loua65]

i graduated from hasbrouck heights high school, and although i agree there are some problems with our education system, i will say that there are people who care about the kids in that school.

I can not see myself where I am right now without some of the help and guidance I received there.

BSN instead of Hersheys....What If