Garden State bans soda, candy and fatty foods.

In the most comprehensive junk food ban in the nation, sugary beverages and high-fat foods are going to be a thing of the past in New Jersey school cafeteria lines and vending machines. The Garden State is requiring by September 2007 that schools ban the sale of snack foods and beverages with minimal nutritional value, including soda, candy and any item that contains more than 8 grams of trans fats and 2 grains of saturated fats per serving.

Kathy F. Kuser, director of the food and nutrition division of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, says the new policy grew out of concern over the rapid rise in childhood obesity rates. A 2002 survey by the state's health found an obesity rate of 20 percent among sixth graders, which was five percentage points higher than the national average of 15 percent.

"It was all too obvious some changes had to be made," says Kuser. School officials say that despite some concerns about loss of vending machine revenues, the regulations make sense. They also add that other foods, like baked chips, will take the place of the more unhealthy choices.

"With 15 percent of a child's meals eaten in a school setting, it is clear that schools have the obligation not only to teach, but to exemplify principles of good nutrition," says Edwina M. Lee, executive i director of the New Jersey School Boards Association.

Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, says that when given a choice of healthier foods, students do buy them. "If you offer children a choice of brownies or grapes they will pick brownies, but if you offer grapes or oranges, they will pick one of them," says Wootan.