Schools brace for new snack standards, possible sales hit

Jessica Bakeman

ALBANY—New York school districts are preparing to change their snack and beverage offerings to comply with new federal nutrition guidelines and are bracing for a drop in sales revenue if students reject the relatively healthy options.

Under the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the federal government issued new regulations for next school year that aim to improve the quality and healthfulness of snacks and drinks offered in school cafeterias. School districts are now putting out competitive bids to vendors for products that meet the standards, which mandate, for example, that some snacks are “whole-grain rich,” which means whole grains must make up more than half of the grains in the products. Another rule is that snacks' first ingredient listed must be a fruit, vegetable, dairy product or protein. Snacks can't be more than 200 calories.

“About half the items that we currently offer will be gone next year, so we're trying to find products that meet the standards,” said Mark Bordeau, senior director of food services for the Broome-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), a state-funded entity that offers shared services to 14 school districts in the southern tier.

Bordeau said he used to contract with an ice cream company that will no longer be selling its products to the schools, because the items don't meet the standards and it wasn't willing to reformulate its ingredients.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/06/8548048/schools-brace-new-snack-standards-possible-sales-hit