Dive Brief:
- The Georgia Board of Education might allow every school in the state 30 days of exemption from national school food standards tied to anti-childhood obesity efforts backed by Michelle Obama.
- The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was created to curb obesity and limits foods with too much sugar, fat, and salt from being sold anywhere on school campuses, but the state's education board sees them as national overreach.
- Georgia officials believe that without campaigns that sell junk foods like candy bars, school funding for extracurriculars will decrease.
Dive Insight:
Instead of pushing the status quo, Georgia schools should be looking for other ways to make money or trying to teach kids that they can enjoy and buy healthier snacks. Selling kids fatty, sugary treats to make extra money may have good intentions — money for activities the students will benefit from — but at the end of the day, it is incredibly dangerous. Obesity is a major issue among American youth and playing into the desires of these kids just for the extra buck sounds pretty bad. While extra fundraising dollars may suffer the first few years, over time, the newer students will become used to the healthier options.