School Nutrition

 

Why it matters: Childhood obesity is at epidemic levels—and junk food is a prime culprit in its growth. The average teen drinks about 20 teaspoons of sugar a day just from soda. That adds an extra 300 calories to their daily diet, which can pack on more than 31 additional pounds a year!  

 

The extra pounds on our children have had alarming affects: More and more kids are suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, which were once solely found in adults. Childhood obesity currently costs $14 billion a year in direct costs, and these children’s medical needs will only grow more intensive as they age. After all, 80 percent of obese adolescents become obese adults. 

 

The best way to break this cycle? Prevent childhood obesity. On school days, students eat an estimated 35 to 50 percent of their total daily calories at school. By replacing the sugary, fatty, high-calorie foods sold in school vending machines, student-run stores, and on the cafeteria line with snacks and drinks that are more nutrient-rich and lower calorie, we’re making the healthy choice the easy choice for the hours that kids are in school each day. 

 

How we did it: Upstream spearheaded this issue in Oregon, In 2003, we wrote the legislation to get junk food out of schools. Then, we advocated for the bill’s passage, as members of the ONPA. The coalition effort paid off when the is Healthy Foods for Healthy Students bill, HB 2650, passed the legislature and was signed into law in 2007.