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Linda Lee, co-chairwoman of the Coulee Region Childhood Obesity Coalition, asked board members at their May 3 workshop to remove or limit student access to pop machines to reduce the chances of children becoming overweight.
Lee said one in three children are overweight or obese today, and soft drinks and snack foods are the major contributors to the extra calories those children are consuming. Lee said children today consume two times as much soda as milk; those numbers were reversed
20 years ago.
Coalition members have been visiting other Coulee Region school boards, too, with the same request.
Marilyn Hurt, La Crosse's supervisor of school nutrition programs, said the district does not have a list tallying pop machine numbers or their locations. In addition, administrators do not know how much money is being raised through vending contracts or where the funds are going, she said.
Hurt said there used to be a policy that required school nutrition office approval before a pop machine could be installed, but that policy "just kind of evaporated." Principals and activity directors have been making arrangements in individual buildings, she said.
Kerm King, the district's energy educator/manager, said he counted 55 pop machines during a recent energy audit.
Hurt said the district needs to develop a comprehensive strategy toward student health, and that should include a look at fund-raisers that involve candy bar sales, the food and drink sales made during co-curricular events and student activity levels.
She said parents and community members need to be part of the solution to childhood obesity, too.
"The schools can't do it by themselves," she said.
Hurt said the district is "very strict" about what it sells at the elementary schools, but it is less strict at the secondary level — especially in the high schools, where students can leave the school grounds to buy whatever they want.
"That doesn't make it right," Hurt said. "We need to be sending a message to kids."
Hurt said she is not concerned about pop machines that are located in teacher lounges.
Woody Wiedenhoeft, associate superintendent of business services, said the removal of pop machines is not something that can be done overnight, but it is clearly becoming an issue the community wants addressed.
"I think that it can be done in a year," he said. "I think the public's sentiment is that it can be done."
Wiedenhoeft said he'd guess that tens of thousands of dollars are being provided to co-curricular clubs through the district's vending contracts. He said there will always be vending machines in school, but the items in those machines can be changed so they involve healthy choices.
Anastasia Mercer can be reached at (608) 791-8256 or smercer@lacrossetribune.com.
