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A school food overhaul looming in
Congress that aims to reduce childhood obesity went over like a wet
potato chip at a suburban Denver elementary school where federal
agriculture officials pitched the plan Tuesday.


      "I like healthy food. But I also like snacks," said Dominic
Sotheo, 7, who picked at a bean-and-cheese burrito with corn and
low-fat milk served for the visit. Sotheo favors PayDay candy bars
and chocolate chip cookies - treats his school doesn't sell.


      Under a bill pending in the U.S. Senate, more schools could be taking
treats away from pupils, or at least making them healthier under
tighter national nutrition standards.


      The bill would add $4.5 billion over the next decade for school
meals for poor students. The measure also gives schools grants to
help them buy local produce.


      However, it is the bill's nutritional guidelines that most
concern the diners at Coronado Hills Elementary School in Thornton.


      Under the change, the Agriculture Department could create new
standards for all foods in schools, including vending machine
items. 


For example, federal authorities could deem that school
pizzas be made with whole-wheat crusts, or ban sugary snacks and
sodas. The bill would ban canned fruit in heavy syrup and tuna
packed in oil. Also off-limits - sweetened apple sauce.


      "They don't want your teeth to rot," explained Hayden Boller,
7, who munched on a ham sandwich and string cheese from home.


Boller confessed that he frequently splurges on a 75-cent snack
sold at his school cafeteria, usually baked Doritos or Cheetos. But
the boy was sanguine about the possibility those treats may not be
for sale one day.


      "I like getting my fruits and vegetables, too," Boller said.


      Federal officials who oversee school nutrition are taking their
healthy-lunch pitch straight to their toughest critics - school
diners.


      Kevin Concannon, the USDA's undersecretary for food, nutrition
and consumer services, has had lunch at about a half-dozen school
cafeterias this spring and plans to visit more before the school
year ends.


      "Getting kids started eating healthier is one of the most
important long-term goals we have as a country," Concannon told
reporters after lunch. 


Asked about the snacks and ice creams sold
alongside the fruits and veggies at the Colorado school, Concannon
said snacks wouldn't immediately be banned - but schools could be
required to offer healthier things.


      "We're not going to ban vending machines. But we're going to
make sure the foods that are in the vending machines have some
nutritional value," he said.

      Concannon said he hopes the bill clears Congress and is signed
into law this summer, in time for the standards to take effect next
school year. The Senate version would spend $4.5 billion. Concannon
said the department is pushing for $10 billion over the next decade
to improve school nutrition.


      He was careful to point out that the new nutritional standards
wouldn't ban school favorites such as pizza or hamburgers. But more
nutritional oversight is coming, Concannon said.


      "I think you're going to see more regulation in that regard.
But it's going to be done in a thoughtful way," Concannon said.


      School lunch workers here favored of the plan. At Coronado
Hills, assistant cafeteria manager Susan Morris said already the
school has cleared a lot of junk food from kids' plates. 


But Morris
pointed to a display of baked chips and ice creams by the register
and said she would like tighter federal controls - even if schools
lose revenue from snack sales.


      "I'd prefer to see it all go. It's just too much garbage for
these kids," Morris said.


      Yocelyn Portillo, a second-grader who picked up a bag of baked
Cheetos, disagreed.


      "I'd be sad if I couldn't have a snack," said Portillo, 7.
"Most days I don't get one, I'm good. But sometimes, you know, you
just really, really need a snack."

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A school food overhaul looming in
Congress, which aims to reduce childhood obesity, went over like a wet potato chip at a Colorado school Tuesday where federal agriculture officials pitched the plan.

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