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S.934 
Sat Jun 13, 2009 at 10:00:00 AM PDT
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It's a little backwards that seltzer water is prohibited from school cafeterias (its a "food of minimal nutritional value") but candy bars are allowed. And a small category of sugary junk (cotton candy, for example) is also prohibited from school cafeterias - but only during breakfast and lunchtime. That junk, which is thought to be so bad it can't be sold in the cafeteria during lunch, can be sold anywhere else in the school, and it can even be sold in the cafeteria during times other than breakfast and lunch. This is known as the "time and place" rule and it's a bane of those who wish to see the standards of school foods improved. So is the rule that sets which junk is so heinous it can't be sold in the cafeteria (a standard so lax that cookies, brownies, and candy bars are still permitted).
On June 24, a group of advocates from across the country (who are cleverly referred to by the event's planners as "The Healthy School Food Brigade") will gather in Washington, DC to try and change this.
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Sat May 02, 2009 at 21:00:00 PM PDT
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Tom Harkin just introduced S.934, a bill that will update the rules on what's allowed to be served or sold in schools. Right now, almost everything is fair game to sell in schools. You just can't sell the worst junk in the cafeteria during lunch time. Outside of the cafeteria, anything goes. In the cafeteria when it's not time for lunch, anything goes. The new bill will update that. The text of the bill is not up on the website yet, but seriously - there's no way the current laws could be made worse unless there was a new rule for mandatory soda and candy consumption in it. There's little doubt that whatever the text of the bill contains will be a needed improvement.
Here are the current co-sponsors of the bill:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R-AK]
Sen. Michael Bennet [D-CO]
Sen. Kent Conrad [D-ND]
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
Sen. Robert Casey [D-PA]
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
If you don't see your Senator's name on that list, give them a call and ask them to sign on. The companion bill in the House is H.R.1324: The Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2009 by Lynn Woolsey. She's got 128 co-sponsors but could certainly use some more!
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