What's For Lunch?

The AZ Republic has an article today on what they say is an upcoming ban on "junk food" at the public schools:

Students are unhappy about an upcoming ban on sales of chocolate bars, soft drinks and candy during the school day.

"It's messed up. It's totally messed up," Adam Wilson, 12, a seventh-grader at Mesa's Fremont Junior High School, said as he spooned a slushy into his mouth.

Wilson was reacting to Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne's proposal on what should and shouldn't be sold to kids in elementary, middle and junior high schools beginning in July. High schools are exempt.
Horne's recommendations come after the Legislature passed a law that bans junk-food sales during the school day at public schools. The law gives the Arizona Department of Education the power to decide what foods and beverages are sold during the school day.

Gilbert High School has been in session since last Wednesday, and the ban is on in full force there, in spite of the comment above that says high schools are exempt. And my football-playing son is not too pleased with it. He says he can get lunch okay, hamburgers are still sold, and he drinks Power Ade or Gatorade when he's in training instead of soft drinks anyway, but the biggest disappointment is the removal of all vending machines. The Power Ade is mixed and served in cups ("blue water" - and this was confirmed by an adult friend), and you won't find anything that has any type of sugar in the first four ingredients on the menu anywhere. The lack of vending machines comes into play when lunch is not being served, and the guys like to add some carbohydrates - read, chips - before practice, where they expend about 3,000 calories a day.

The other huge implication, from a parent who is involved in various fundraising ventures, is the hit the various booster clubs and spirit store will be taking, financially. Those vending machines took the place of a lot of car washes and discount coupon selling. I guess I fall in the libertarian camp on this issue. I don't think a ban on selling certain foods will prevent the kids from eating those foods, or will encourage them to change their lifestyles. As a mom, I try hard to provide good healthy food for breakfast and dinner, and I know that he is going to supplement with whatever is fast and easy during the day. So now I guess I'll be the one to help supplement during the day. Prominent on my shopping list for the day is "Doritos" and "Snickers."