New CDC Fact Sheet Shows Positive Financial Outcomes for Schools Implementing Strong Nutrition Standards

July 08, 2011 – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of U.S. students attend schools with written policies that include nutrition standards for competitive foods and beverages, and more than half of states have policies that limit or restrict competitive foods in schools.  However, the policies vary in strength, and many do not guarantee that only healthy foods and beverages will be available within schools.  Many school districts believe that by implementing strong nutrition policies and practices, their schools will have less revenue derived from food and beverage sales. Nevertheless, a new CDC fact sheet shows otherwise. 

The fact sheet lists several studies that reveal that schools have reported little or no change in revenue or have actually seen an increase in revenue when implementing strong nutrition standards, such as restricting the sale of junk foods and soda.  It also cites studies that show that financial risks often can be minimized by careful selection and clever marketing of healthier food and beverage choices. In addition, the fact sheet reveals that school beverage vending contracts are not a significant source of revenue for most schools. 

A recent CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report on beverage consumption among high school students, indicates that, although water, milk and 100% fruit juice were the beverage most commonly consumed by students in grades 9-12, 24.3% drank a serving of regular soda or pop, 16.1% drank a serving of a sports drink, and 16.9% drank a serving of another sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) one or more times per day.  For all SSBs, male students were more likely than female students, and black students were more likely than white and Hispanic students to report drinking these beverages one or more times per day. 

The beverage consumption data was obtained from the 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study (NYPANS), which included a school-based survey to measure the physical activity and dietary behaviors among a nationally representative sample of students in grades 9-12, and for which the CDC has established a new webpage.  To view the webpage, click here. And to learn more about how to reduce access to sugar-sweetened beverages among youth, click here.