School Food -- junk food is still around

Our local school banned any outside food for parties last year as part of the push for healthier food at school. Not everyone liked that, but I think it was a good idea. There's still room for improvement, but at least they don't serve a soft pretzel as an entree for lunch any more. That was one thing I never understood. Who eats a large pretzel for lunch?

I was talking with someone yesterday who does catering for events and he said he was thinking about selling food at fairs and that the kind of food most people preferred was junk food. That sells the best.

SFGate says that the state regulations on school food still allow lots of room for junk food, but that's only because the junk foods have had some fat and sugar taken out. A loophole that keeps the junk food producers happy along with the kids.

"The industry is committed to providing products that promote health and wellness," said Robert Earl, senior director for nutrition policy at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a trade group. "Companies are doing everything from portion packs to baked chips."

In order to adhere to California nutrition requirements, snacks sold in middle and high schools can have no more than 250 calories; in elementary schools, snacks must be 175 calories or less. No more than 35 percent of the snack's calories can come from fat and no more than 10 percent from saturated fat. Sugar is limited to 35 percent by weight.

Fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes, nut butters, seeds, eggs and cheese are excluded from the regulations, as is food brought from home.

Individually sold entrees such as pizza, burritos and hamburgers can't be more than 400 calories, with a maximum of 4 grams of fat per 100 calories. The law does not limit how many snacks or entrees students can buy at a time.

In addition, half of the drinks sold on high school campuses must be juice, water and low-fat or non-fat milk. In 2009 all soda will be banned (it already is banned from elementary and middle schools). The sale of sugary athletic drinks is still permitted.