NO MORE SUGARY CLASSROOM TREATS SCHOOLS REQUIRED TO ADOPT POLICIES TO DISCOURAGE CANDY, CUPCAKES.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Lollipop fundraisers on Valentine's Day, candy rewards for good behavior and cupcakes for classroom birthday parties might become things of the past at Antelope Valley schools in response to new federal legislation aimed at promoting health and battling childhood obesity.

School districts are being required to adopt by next school year ``wellness'' policies that encourage school clubs and PTAs to sell healthy or nonfood items instead of candy for fundraisers and suggest parents strongly consider the nutritional quality of snacks they donate to class parties.

``I think it's felt out there that kids of today are overweight and, of course, schools are an easy target to fix that responsibility on,'' said Terry Custer, the Antelope Valley Union High School District's director of food services.

``Take a look at kids of today versus 20 to 30 years ago. It's a different environment. Kids go home, sit in front of a computer, they might go out to fast-food for dinner. They just don't get the exercise that older generation kids did.

``I liken junk food to smoking in the past. I see it going the way of the cigarette.''

The federal mandate stems from the Federal Child Nutrition and Women, Infants and Children Reauthorization Act of 2004.

The law states that any school district that participates in the federal child nutrition program must have a wellness policy in place by the beginning of the 2006-07 school year, school officials said.

``The whole idea is to promote and support a culture of health and fitness in our schools, to get everyone in the community involved,'' said Nancy Hemstreet, the Westside Union School District's food services director.

Childhood obesity has become a health issue of epidemic proportions, according to the national PTA. Between the late 1970s and 2000, the percentage of children ages 6 to 11 who were overweight more than doubled, and the percentage of adolescents ages 12 to 19 who were overweight tripled.

Most school districts have already revised their lunch menus to comply with stricter nutrition guidelines. The areas that they have had to focus on are a la carte items sold through student stores and over the lunch counters.

In the high school and Westside districts, for example, the switch has already been made from fried potato chips to baked, and the sale of high-fat, high-sugar items such as beef sticks and prepackaged cakes and cookies has been or will be stopped.

Westside is offering more fresh fruits, but ``unfortunately that doesn't go as well,'' Hemstreet said.

Palmdale School District officials say the policy will be a ``big adjustment'' that will affect classroom parties and fundraisers.

``It means we will have to look at healthy snacks and at fundraisers that don't focus on candy,'' Palmdale Deputy Superintendent Lori Ordway-Peck said.

Parties will not be banned, but ``we will try to work with people to see how it will be improved. It will change. Bringing cupcakes in for birthday parties is something that you will see less and less of as time goes by,'' Ordway-Peck said.

At Westside, where parties could conceivably occur more than once a week, the policy recommends that classes hold only one party a month that would encompass birthday and holiday celebrations.

Marguerite Johnson, Westside's coordinator of educational services, said the district is encouraging parents to bring in healthy snacks like fruit and vegetable trays.

``We are seeing parents already doing that,'' Johnson said.

As for fundraisers, Johnson said school groups could just as easily sell a carnation as a lollipop on Valentine's Day or have a Halloween message without a candy attached.

And rather than handing out treats from the candy jar to students for academic accomplishments and good behavior, teachers will be encouraged to dispense pencils and erasers, officials said.

``If kids are getting it several times a week it all adds up,'' Johnson said.

Custer said by July 2007, at least 50 percent of the beverages sold on high school campuses have to be ``healthy,'' and by July 2009, sugary sodas will be banned.

``We already see kids switching from carbonated beverages to water and sports drinks,'' Custer said.

He said candy sold through fundraisers and at student stores that don't meet federal nutrition guidelines will be eliminated.

The high school district hosted a food show at which student government councils and their advisers sampled food that was more healthy.

``We tasted baked chips. We tasted some fruit and grain-type bars. Some of the kids liked the new items. Their enthusiasm wasn't bubbling over on some items. I don't blame them. Some healthy items don't taste very good,'' Custer said.

``Kids have traditionally had the right and privilege to make those kinds of decisions. Now we are making the decisions for them. They are not going to like this, but they are going to have to get used to it,'' Custer said.

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com

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