Junk-food-free zones.

Byline: The Register-Guard

If there are dissenters from the general idea that the Eugene School District ought to do what it can to improve students' diets and help them become more physically active, they've kept quiet. The fact that too many children are obese is beyond debate, the connection of obesity to diet and exercise is clear, the implications for students' current and future health are frightening, and the idea that schools should refrain from making the problem worse is not controversial.

A committee has developed a strong set of recommendations to promote healthful food and encourage exercise at all grade levels in the Eugene district. Superintendent George Russell has forwarded them to the Eugene School Board with few changes. The board will hold a public hearing on April 19 and will vote on the recommendations in May, but the direction the district is heading is already plain - students will have better food and more exercise.

The recommendations come in response to a requirement that all school districts that participate in the federal free and reduced-price lunch program adopt student "wellness" policies. Other local school districts will soon be considering policies of their own. It's safe to assume that these policies will also discourage or ban junk food, place a new emphasis on good nutrition, and strive to provide more opportunities for students to exercise.

One reason Eugene is out in front is that the federal requirement coincides with growing remorse over the school board's approval in 2000 of contracts with Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola. The eight-year contracts allowed more soda pop vending machines in the district's four high schools. The school district received $320,000 from the soft drink companies and a slice of the income from sales - money the district has put to good use. Without the contracts, the high schools' playing fields wouldn't have bleachers.

Yet from the beginning, the soda contracts were criticized as a bad bargain. The misgivings have deepened as awareness of the problem of obesity has expanded. Russell provides an example of how thinking has evolved. He recommended that the board sign the contracts in 2000, but now wants soda pop out of the schools as part of a broad no-junk-food policy.

The junk food ban is a slam-dunk. The soda pop part of it is not a question of whether, but when. The Coke and Pepsi contracts run for another three years, and getting out of them would bring financial penalties. The wellness committee recommends ending soda pop sales at all schools next year, which implies breaking the contracts. Instead, the school board should let the contracts run their course, and negotiate with the soft drink companies to stock their vending machines with drinks besides soda. Pepsi has already said it's willing to discuss such changes.

Not renewing the soda pop contracts in three years would mean forgoing some potential income. Canceling the contracts now would mean diverting money from other purposes to pay the penalties. The distinction is an important one, and the damage would be more than financial - contracts are promises that should not be broken except under extraordinary circumstances. The now-or-later question about soda pop is not so urgent that the school board should go back on its word.

No school district can ensure that all children will always eat what they should and get all the exercise they need - what happens in students' homes or off campus is beyond school officials' control. Schools can, however, ensure that all children have at least one place in their lives where healthful food and physical activity are consistently promoted. The wellness policy will move Eugene schools in that direction, and other districts should follow.