Schools can make as much money selling healthy foods as they can pushing sugar and fat on students, according to a nutrition study released today by the Arizona Department of Education. . . .

The five-month study examined the financial impact of substituting healthier snacks such as crackers and honey-roasted peanuts for high-calorie, low-nutrient snacks and soda. Schools across the United States are feeling pressure to provide healthier snacks because of rising rates of childhood obesity. . . .

Many schools are nervous about switching because soft drinks and snack sales bring in thousands of dollars each year. Proceeds pay for field trips, school clubs and athletic events. In Glendale, high schools can make $32,000 to $50,000 through contracts with soft-drink companies.

Sales of Sodas, Junk Food Banned in Seattle Schools
The Seattle School Board has unanimously approved a comprehensive and far-reaching set of nutrition-related policies designed to provide students with healthy food and beverage choices during the school day.

Specifically, the policies will ban sales of all foods containing high levels of sugar and fat, improve the quality and appeal of school meal programs, and prohibit contracts with beverage vendors for "exclusive pouring rights." The district's current exclusive contract with Coca-Cola will be phased out within one year.

The policies also give direction to the school meal program and others to offer fresh, local, organic, non-genetically-modified, non-irradiated, unprocessed food, whenever feasible. Seattle Schools have posted links to all their nutrition policies and procedures at their website: http://www.seattleschools.org/area/news/x40903nr.xml?wrapper=0