Inland Northwest schools are ahead of move to ban sweetened drinks

An agreement between beverage industry giants and the William J. Clinton Foundation to keep sugary sodas out of schools won’t change what some schools in Spokane County and Idaho are already doing.

Spokane Public Schools banned the sale of sugar-sweetened sodas during the school day in all buildings this year.

“We took a little flak for it in some ways, but we responded ahead of time,” said Doug Wordell, director of nutrition services for Spokane. “We made a strong stance for nutrition.”

The Central Valley School District, Spokane County’s second largest school district, is implementing a five-year nutrition plan that removes all carbonated drinks from schools by the 2008-2009 school year, the same year the Clinton Foundation agreement takes effect.

The Coeur d’Alene School District is also ahead of the game, prohibiting the sale of sodas in September as part of its new nutrition policy.

“We’ve already done it,” said business manager Steve Briggs.

Under the new agreement announced this week – a joint initiative of the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association – major beverage distributors such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Cadbury Schweppes PLC agreed to sell only water, juice and low-fat milk in the nation’s public and private elementary and middle schools.

At the high school level, the distributors agreed to sell only sodas with 10 calories or fewer. Sports drinks with 66 calories per 8 ounces would still be allowed, and beverage distributors agreed that at least 50 percent of beverage sales must be water or no- or low-calorie options.

The agreement would not apply to soda sales at sporting events and fundraisers where a large portion of the audience is adults, but after-school activities would be subject to the new restrictions, officials with the Clinton Foundation said.

The beverage companies would work to implement the changes at 75 percent of schools by the 2008-09 school year, followed by all schools a year later.

While some smaller schools may feel the pinch, most schools in Washington have already started the process of implementing healthier options for kids under a state directive that required schools to come up with a nutrition policy by August 2005.

“Our plan pretty much goes in conjunction with (the Clinton) plan,” said Duane Smilden, nutrition services director for the CVSD. “By 2008-09 we won’t have any carbonated beverages anyway, not even the diet stuff.”

Both Smilden and Wordell voiced concerns over the agreement’s apparent focus on eliminating all sugary drinks from the elementary and middle schools.

“I think it’s just a big political media splash for Coke and major beverage companies,” Wordell said. “The reason I say that … they are focusing on middle and elementary. We never had vending machines accessible to our students in the elementary level, and limited middle school machines.”

Smilden echoed his complaint.

“High school is where the money is at and they know it,” Smilden said.

High schools can generate about $35,000 to $45,000 in beverage sales.

Since Spokane cut regular soda out, Wordell estimates a 40 percent to 50 percent drop in revenue at student stores and from vending machines.

“It’s had a significant impact on our net income” said Erin Ruehl, marketing teacher at Shadle Park High School. “It’s a combination of a decrease in overall sales and also a decrease in the profit margin.”

The beverage distributors are awarded contracts for vending machines based on the commission rate for the school. Regular sodas can bring a profit of about 75 cents per dollar for schools, where healthier options may only bring 45 cents, Wordell said.

“So even if we sold the same amount, we are going to lose almost half of the revenue,” Wordell said.

Spokane’s contract with Coca-Cola for its vending machines expires this year. Central Valley will also be renegotiating a contract with Coke.

Sales in student stores are different from vending machines in that students buy products from the distributors at wholesale prices, then determine the mark-up.

“It’s not unusual that it costs more to find things that are healthier,” Ruehl said. “There’s a higher cost, and you don’t have as much profit.”

Spokane’s plan, considered aggressive, has ruffled some feathers among students, especially those in the DECA, or Distributive Education Clubs of America program.

“It’s basically just taking money away from the schools,” said 18-year-old Tim Vogt, the treasurer of the Rogers High School DECA club. “Students are just finding other outlets” to buy the soda.

Now, instead of buying a 20-ounce Mountain Dew from the student store, students are going to a nearby store and buying 2 liters, students said.

“We still have a kid who comes in almost every day looking for Mountain Dew,” said Anthony Swim, 18, who works in the Rogers DECA store.

Nobody argues that nothing needs to be done to combat the youth obesity epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 percent of children ages 6 to 19 are overweight.

Dentists have also chimed in about soda’s effect on oral health. Pop, even diet, contains phosphoric acid and citric acid and can erode root surfaces, studies show.

“The plan is a great first step,” said Jim Shelby, a longtime North Side dentist. “But basically what we are trying to teach kids is that prolonged acidic exposure is really bad … to get kids to realize they are going to be 100 years old with today’s modern medicine, and they are going to need their teeth.”

But a healthier lifestyle, including drinking fewer sugar-laden drinks, can’t just be taught in school, students argued.

“It has to start at home, it really has nothing to do with school,” said Rogers student Teriann Trowbridge, 17. “I think they just wanted someone to blame it on.”