Our school (who signed a 5-year contract with CCE 3 1/2 years ago) just got some new Dixie-Narco glass-front Coke machines. Wow, they're sweet! Students really love them! [img]smile.gif[/img]

However, my state's legislature wants to spoil the party. A new bill was introduced a while back that would require 50% of the soda machines to be filled with "healthy" drinks. My principal (who I have close ties with) HATES the bill, fearing it will cut sales (& profits), but he's prepared just in case-they also put in 4 new Minute Maid machines in case the new law is passed. He's also adding more diet sodas to the machines as well as looking into Swerve, Coke's new dairy drink, to boost sales, too.

So, onto the main topic: What do all you BevNetters think about this? Any experiences like this in your state? Do you support or oppose soda in schools?

Well, I'm kind of on the fence. Either way, they should be part of a larger portfolio of available drinks. Coke and Pepsi both make plenty of other available drinks in various packages.

Coke has 12oz PET Dasani, MM Apple, and MM Orange, along with the Powerade flavors and MM Smoothies. In 12oz cans, they have the new MM flavors (the ones that replaced Fruitopia) and Swerve. I think there may also be a 12oz PET Nestea (hot fill) in the works.

In 20oz, they've also got Lemonade/Pink/Light/Fruit Punch/Limeade, along with various Nestea flavors.

Plenty of non-carbonated options, and they should be available to students in addition to any sodas. Though I think that schools should try to avoid the higher caffeinated drinks, like Mello Yello and Dew. They should offer caffeine free versions of sodas, and a Sprite/Sierra Mist type drink as well.

I was suprised to see a headline proclaiming that soda had been banned in canadian schools, but I then went on to read that it had actually only been banned in elementary schools. I don't think soft drinks have a part in elementary schools, but they're okay in middle and high school as long as there are other choices.

I love how my school doesn't give a **** one way or another. They have a vending contact with pepsi to put machines in the commons. But they have a contract with coke to use their fountains in the lunch lines....

I'm not so sure schools should push soda in school anyway, especially in the younger grades.

Also some of the exclusive contracts the soda companies make with schools bother me. I know why they do it: schools always need money and getting it from taxpayers is like squeezing coke from a turnip.

On the other hand, a lot of politicians are making laws against soda in school, saying its "for the children". Actually, it's more about "for politicians publicity"....

I think high school is alright but back when I was in middle school we didn't coke or pepsi. It was nothing but fruitopia or milk.... But I say if we americans can't be responable enough to watch our weight, Then that is pretty damn sad.

same here, except in my middle we didn't have anything, and in high school we only had fruitopia and minute maid juices, and soda machines were cut on after school.

You don't miss what you never had.

my highschool had some machines on timers, no soda during class, but then they'd fiddlewith the schedule and the machines were off. me and a friend of mine kept a log of when machines went on and off and told only certain individuals.

We really weren't supposed to have soda at all, so the machines had cartons of milk, orange juice and apple juice (for some ridiculously low price like 10 cents/carton or so)

But....there was this one soda machine sort of hidden behind the girls' gym ... it dispensed store brand sodas for 25c/can.

This was early 80's...

I don't see what the big deal is. I am not convinced that a few sodas per day makes anybody obese.

Someone told me the other day that one of our local high schools actually sells McDonald's food during lunch! How about blaming some of that for the obesity problem? Drinking one or two cans of soda at lunch is not going to make the average person overweight. Stuffing Quarter Pounders down their throat, though, is not the best idea.

I do agree that there should be more of a variety.

[ 01-12-2004, 10:40 AM: Message edited by: karks88 ]