PRESS
RELEASE
310.450.8338, ext. 70342 30 AUG 2011
SMMUSD Keeps non-fat
chocolate milk, examines other beverage and food offerings
At a
regular meeting on August 24, the Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education
authorized the district to continue to offer and serve non-fat chocolate milk
during lunch in grades K-12; however, the board directed Food and Nutrition
Services Department staff to provide a way in which parents could “opt out”
their child(ren) from being served non-fat flavored
milk, should they choose to do so.
Orlando Griego, the director of Food
and Nutrition Services, said the current cafeteria
computer system could help the cashiers monitor such an opt-out mechanism. He said he would work with each school
principal to develop a plan to comply with the board's direction, while
ensuring any logistical problems are addressed.
The board was originally asked to
stop serving chocolate milk by a group of parents who were opposed to flavored
milk because of added sugar.
The Board of Education’s decision
to continue serving non-fat milk was approved by a 5-2 vote. The board
considered data and information from the American heart Association, the Journal
of Adolescent Health, the American Dietetic Association, the
During
the discussion, Board President Jose Escarce and Board Member Laurie Lieberman
spoke in favor of staff’s recommendation, stating that this decision needed to
be based on facts and data. They agreed
that removing non-fat chocolate milk could result in children choosing to drink
no milk, rather than switching to white milk, which would deprive them of
much-needed nutrients.
“We are primarily concerned with serving
children whose families might not be as able as others to provide a
nutrient-rich, and often more costly, diet,” explained Chief Business Officer
Jan Maez during a statement she read at the board meeting. “The unfortunate reality is that, in many
cases, what some children eat at school is the bulk of their nutritionally
sound food for the day.”
Board
members urged the district to begin a campaign educating students and parents
on the benefits of milk, a healthy diet, and a diet lower in sugar. They further suggested staff examine the
placement of white versus chocolate milk cartons in the cafeteria line to
ensure that white milk is easily accessed by students.
Board
Member Maria Leon-Vazquez, who was in favor of the board’s final decision,
added that she would like this milk campaign to also underscore the importance
of eating healthily and exercising as means to combat childhood obesity.
While
the vote to continue offering and serving non-fat chocolate milk was not
unanimous, the entire Board of Education agreed that the district should
conduct a comprehensive review of beverage and food offerings throughout the
district to ensure they are serving the most nutritional foods possible. District staff plans to undertake this review
by first examining the a la carte items, which are sold individually – not part
of a cafeteria meal – during nutrition and lunch. Additionally, district staff was directed to
work with all groups and organizations who sell food items on campus to make
sure they comply with the district’s Wellness Policy and to work with school
principals to monitor foods sold on campus by anyone other than the Food and
Nutrition Department or brought on campus as treats by parents.
“Prior
to the Board of Education discussing non-fat chocolate milk, the Food and
Nutrition Services Department had already begun the process of examining the a
la carte items,” commented Orlando Griego.
“Our department continuously researches ways in which to improve the
nutritional offerings on the elementary and secondary school menus as well as a
la carte items, and we will continue to examine ways to make our meals the
healthiest we can for our students.”
The
district had already removed strawberry flavored milk from both breakfast and
lunch, and non-fat chocolate milk from breakfast due to an apparent lack of
demand for these items during these meals.
This
past spring, SMMUSD’s Food and Nutrition Services Department underwent an audit
by the California Department of Education.
The district was found to be in compliance with requirements set forth
by the United States Department of Agriculture and the National School Lunch
Program. The auditor commended SMMUSD
for “providing quality nutritional meals to assure students are ready to learn”
and for providing “fresh fruits and vegetables everyday at all the sites.”
Additionally,
the district will be celebrating its 15th year of partnership with
the
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SANTA
MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED
ph:
310.450.8338; fax: 310.581.1138
www.smmusd.org