by Justin Crum

The New York State Comptroller’s Office recently released a report addressing whether food available in the city’s public schools “meets established nutritional guidelines and promotes healthy eating habits among the students” in accordance with federal, state and local laws and regulations.

After reviewing 30 high schools, junior high schools and elementary schools, the audit found that school meals are meeting federal requirements. However, many of the schools were cited for their practices regarding so-called “competitive foods” — those sold in school stores and vending machines, which vie against school meals for the attention and appetites of students. The most commonly violated rules were:

• schools cannot sell competitive food (other than water, 100 percent juice and milk) before the end of the final lunch period;
• soda, candy and other food prohibited by state and federal law cannot be sold until after school hours;
• any food sold in a school store or vending setting must be purchased through central contracts at the Department of Education (DoE); and
• only “occasional” school-sponsored events (bake sales, fundraisers, etc.) can be exempt from these rules.

Perhaps the most troubling finding is the wide availability of food with limited or no nutritional value, such as candy and soda, at more than 30 percent of the schools visited. Furthermore, half of the schools visited had vending machines accessible during lunch hours — selling items such as Cheez-Its, Doritos and Cheese Doodles. None of these items are approved by DoE, nor are they purchased through a DoE contract.

Although we understand that many schools see vending machines as an important revenue source, it is distressing that they have come to rely on funding from the pockets of their students this way — potentially to the detriment of their students’ long-term health.