DISTRICT EXPELS JUNK FOOD VENDORS ACT TO MEET LAUSD'S NEW RULES.Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Unified is banning junk food junk food n. Any of various prepackaged snack foods high in calories but low in nutritional value. junk food sales on campus beginning July 1, and food companies are scrambling to develop new low-fat snacks to comply with the stricter guidelines. As the district prepares to yank Yank steamship stoker vainly tries to climb the social ladder, then fails in attempt to avenge himself on society. [Am. Drama: O’Neill The Hairy Ape in Sobel, 339] See : Failure (jargon) yank cookies, candy and other treats from vending machines vending machine, coin-operated, automatic device for selling goods. Many vending machines are capable of making change, and some of the more sophisticated ones accept paper money or credit cards. , cafeterias and student stores, food companies are creating low-fat cheese puffs Cheese puffs (in the U.S.) or cheezies (in Canada), are a puffed corn snack, coated with a mixture of cheese or cheese-flavored powders. Cheese puffs is a generic name; Cheetos and Wotsits are the most common brand name. , test marketing new pretzels and reducing milk fat in their products. ``It's all tailor-made to respond by creating products we think the kids will like,'' said Christie Gloster, a marketing manager for The Sugar Foods Corp., which has developed a line of products, called Super Snacks, just to comply with LAUSD's rules. ``This line of snacks didn't exist nine months ago.'' Gloster said. ``We said we want to support LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) .'' Students participated in taste testing, as well as naming the products. Their new pizza-, cheese-, sour cream- and ranch-flavored Pretzel Poppers poppers Drug slang A regional street term for amyl nitrate or isobutyl nitrite are expected to be among the new items debuting after July 1. Companies say the changes are worth making, not only for the bottom line, but to do their part in reducing the obesity epidemic among Los Angeles teens. About 21 percent of Los Angeles County children are overweight and 19 percent more are right on the cusp - which health officials say is already increasing rates of diabetes and heart disease. ``If there's such a thing as greater good, you're doing it right here,'' Jack Martin, an area business manager for Nestle, told LAUSD officials Thursday at a meeting to discuss the new standards. While L.A. Unified was acting quicker than other districts in banning fatty foods, some nutritionists said the district could have gone further. The new rules dictate serving size, forbid artificial colors and restrict how much fat, sugar and salt food items can have. ``I gave (the plan) a C grade,'' said Michael Hirt, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine integrative medicine combines conventional medicine with complementary and alternative therapies. integrative medicine The 'new medicine' A term for the incorporation of alternative therapies into mainstream medical practice. in Tarzana. ``I think the problem is that they're focusing on limiting the bad, but they're not focusing on maximizing the good.'' The district should have required foods to include positive components, such as fiber and vitamins, Hirt said. While some school employees worry that students won't buy the healthier alternatives, L.A. Unified leaders said a 2-year-old pilot program has been successful at Monroe High School For other uses, see James Monroe High School. Monroe High School may refer to:
``The challenge is basically the fear of change,'' said Lisa Jones, Linking Education Activity and Food coordinator for Monroe High School. After taking a $50,000 hit in vending sales in the first several months, profits rebounded to normal levels, she said. ``Everyone believed it would never, never work, but I think we agree it is working.'' Not wanting to lose out on a market of about 750,000 students, food vendors have moved quickly to develop foods that meet the new standards. Norman Nixon, owner of Healthy Body and Products in Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. , said his company did extensive marketing and outreach to convince students to try new juices, waters and athletic drinks that complied with the soda ban LAUSD implemented last year. ``You do everything. You engage the kids in the change,'' he said. ``We gave a lot of juice away. You have to let them try it.'' Similar steps will be taken with the junk-food ban, he said. ``This is lighting the fire under everybody,'' Nixon said. Jennifer Radcliffe, (818) 713-3722 jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 2) At left, vendors will offer low-fat snacks that comply with LAUSD's new guidelines. At right, snacks no longer available. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer Box: SLIMMING DOWN SOURCE: LAUSD Daily News |
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