BOSTON, JAN. 25, 2010.....Massachusetts schools would phase out fries in favor of fruit under a proposal the House is scheduled to consider this week. Under a proposal sponsored by 57 members of the House and Senate, state authorities would restrict schools' ability to sell high-calorie, high-fat and high-sodium snacks, a move aimed at curbing childhood obesity. Iterations of the bill have stalled for several sessions, encountering resistance from the grocery lobby and those who have argued nutritional values should be instilled at home and not by government. Under the bill, schools would be encouraged to sell non-fried fruit and vegetables, whole grain products, nonfat or low-fat dairy products, non-carbonated water and juice with no additives. The bill would require plain water to be available to students all day at no cost to the students.
The bill would also require non-packaged foods to be accompanied by nutritional information, enabling students to make their own nutritional choices. The guidelines for which foods schools may sell would be drawn from a 2007 report by the Instit ute of Medicine, which determined that schools should prohibit foods containing more than 35 percent of their calories from fat, fewer than 10 percent of their calories from saturated fat, fewer than 35 percent of their calories from sugar and less than 200 milligrams of sodium per serving. That means no more sugary soda, cookies, or candy bars and fewer chips and sports drinks. "These products are truly rotting our children from the inside out," said Rep. Peter Koutoujian, lead sponsor of the proposal. "These children are in our schools for six to eight hours a day. They're eating one and sometimes two meals a day in our schools. I believe with a responsibility to that, we should not be allowing children unfettered access to foods and beverages that are bad for them." The proposal is aimed at slowing high obesity rates - according to a 2008 Department of Public Health report, 1 million Massachusetts adults, about one in five, were obese, and 3 million were above a healthy weight. The report found that a third of high school and middle school students in Massachusetts between ages 10 and 17 were overweight or obese, outpacing national averages, with more obesity among low-income, black and Hispanic students. Obese and overweight children are likelier than their peers to develop diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, some forms of cancer, psychological disorders and musculoskeletal problems, according to the DPH report, which also found that treating obese and overweight patients cost $15 billion in 2002. All indications, lawmakers say, are that the problems have gotten worse. House Speaker Robert DeLeo said the bill is an important step for children's health care and reducing costs. "I hear stories just from some of my local kids who say that they may just want a quick lunch sometimes so they have a Coke and a bag of chips," he said, grinning and gesturing sheepishly toward his own midsection. "You know what I mean? I think it's something we have to take a look at." The bill, H 2092, which was polled out of the Committee on Public Health Friday, gives lawmakers a chance to advance a widely supported and popular measure as a challenging election year gets underway. The bill emerged on a 7-0 vote - fewer than half of the committee's 17 members weighed in - with the support of just one senator, co-chair Susan Fargo (D-Lincoln), and one Republican, Rep. Lew Evangelidis of Holden. Members were given from Thursday morning until Friday at noon to respond to the poll, an increasingly popular method of committee voting that does not require members to actually meet. The bill is now in the Committee on Ways and Means. Aides to DeLeo on Friday afternoon informed members in a memo to plan for a closed caucus before Thursday's session and consideration of the school nutrition bill in a session after the caucus. A committee aide did not return a call for comment. Public Health Committee Co-Chair Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez said the legislation emerged last week because of widespread support among the membership and because of the bill's evolution over several sessions. He said many members had been approaching him on the floor of the House to register support for the bill and he said he's made clear he offers "an open forum where anyone who has any questions or concerns" can raise them. "No one said anything," he said. Asked about concerns by some members that the House's agenda has been too heavily dictated from the speaker's office, Sanchez said, "I think this bill surpasses questions of process." He noted the support of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Disparities Action Network and other nonprofit organizations. Fargo said she was unaware the House planned to take up the proposal until she was informed by the News Service, and she added she'd ask Senate President Therese Murray to back the bill in the Senate. A spokesman for the Senate president did not respond to a request for comment. Fargo called childhood obesity "an epidemic" and noted Obama administration efforts - spearheaded by First Lady Michelle Obama - to encourage children to eat healthy foods. Reps. Evangelidis, (R-Westfield), Ruth Balser (D-Newton), John Quinn (D-Dartmouth), Kevin Aguiar (D-Fall River) and Sens. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford) and Robert Hedlund (R-Weymouth) - all members of the Public Health Committee - did not respond to calls seeking comment. Fargo, Sanchez and Evangelidis joined Reps. Timothy Toomey (D-Cambridge), Cleon Turner (D-Dennis), Michael Brady (D-Brockton) and Jason Lewis (D-Winchester) in support of the committee's bill. Under the bill, new health standards would be phased in at least a year from the date they are adopted by the Department of Public Health, and they would include restrictions on what times of day certain foods may be sold, parameters of new training for school food service directors, and the appropriate length of lunch periods. They would be reviewed by DPH within five years of being implemented. The proposal also establishes a gubernatorial "Commission on Childhood Obesity," chaired by the commissioners of the Department of Public Health and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and including members from the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Medical Assistance, the Commissioner of Agricultural Resources, the Commissioner of Transitional Assistance, the Commissioner of Insurance, the chair of the Statewide Student Advisory Council and experts in childhood nutrition, fitness and eating disorders appointed by the governor. Under another component, the Department of Agricultural Resources would> research and report on the feasibility of a "farm-to-school program" to promote locally grown products in schools. In addition, schools would be required to report wellness and nutrition information in annual reports to the state. Previous versions of the bill have stalled in recent sessions. In 2003, during a previous debate on the bill, Gov. Mitt Romney told reporters, "I certainly hope that we would have quality nutritious food in our schools. Does that mean that junk food shouldn't be in canteens and so forth? I've got to admit I don't think that's a step that we'd necessarily have to take . . . A hamburger now and then isn't going to hurt you, a Snickers bar now and then isn't going to hurt you, but if it becomes part of the school diet, that would be a real problem." In 2005, the Grocery Manufacturers of America told Koutoujian - then Public Health Committee co-chair - that restrictions on food in schools "will do nothing to motivate students, parents or communities to take the steps necessary to improve their overall health. Restrictions to not educate." According to the organization's web site, GMA contributed nearly $4 billion in economic activity to Massachusetts in 2006, while employing 23,319 workers at 674 facilities. Last year, Gov. Deval Patrick sought to impose a tax on sugary drinks and junk food, a non-starter among lawmakers who quickly panned the proposal. Asked by the News Service, Patrick declined Monday to say whether he would again propose the levy.
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