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Corn syrups need not apply: The Healthy Snacks School
Belmont Station Elementary School students and teachers celebrated their final day of school before the winter break Dec. 21. Parents trudged in from the parking lot, laden with bags full of holiday treats. But there was not a cookie, muffin or potato chip in sight.
Instead there were fruit kabobs, strawberry slushies, cheese trays, butter-free popcorn and clementines.
This is the Healthy Snack School, and everyone seems to be on board with Principal Patricia McGinly's program. Students are starting to read labels. They detected corn syrup in the cafeteria's chocolate milk; now McGinly is on the hunt for a brand that shuns the offending ingredient.
Since the beginning of the 2005 school year, McGinly has enlisted the parents and staff to get the children on the road to good eating and exercise habits.
Food is never used as a reward. The gym teachers are aiming at the Governor's award for nutrition and physical activity this year. And parents have started a chapter of Girls on the Run, which focuses on both exercise and character building.
The soda machines are long gone. Only water is sold in the school. The school targeted trans fats last year. This year's Public Enemy No. 1 is high fructose corn syrup.
She may not have a lot of company, but she's not alone. A Florida legislator introduced a bill last year to eliminate high fructose corn syrup from the state's cafeterias and school grounds (the bill died in committee, but it will be back). And Connecticut has banned sodas and sugary drinks from its public schools.
Fifth-grade teacher Sean Griffin supports the ban. "I've read articles about high fructose corn syrup. It acts more like a fat than a sugar. There's talk on the federal level about doing something about it. We're just on the cutting edge."
McGinly can't keep corn syrup out of the cafeteria because county schools' cafeteria food comes from a central source that does not regulate that ingredient. But, with the parents' help, she can keep it out of the classrooms.
A fruit roll-up labeled "made with real fruit and no preservatives," McGinly pointed out to her parents in the "Healthy Snack Guidelines," is actually made of corn syrup.
"We are going to continue the process of being a healthy snack school," McGinly wrote, "by eliminating high fructose corn syrup products from our school."
No cookies, candy, cupcakes, fruit roll-ups, or packaged fruit snacks with corn syrup.
"It's a pretty smart choice," fifth-grader Andrew Ciampini he said. "The kids were eating too much junk food."
He said he especially likes clementines. He has his parents keep them at home.
Parent Molly Strong said her three children are healthy eaters at home, but she thinks the program has made a difference. "They are more aware of what they eat, especially the corn syrup."
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