State audit finds problems with LI school snacks

September 15, 2009 by JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER / jennifer.kelleher@newsday.com

Junk food sold in school vending machines undermines efforts to serve healthy cafeteria meals, often in violation of a school district's own policy, a state audit released Tuesday found.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's auditors examined food and drinks sold in 20 districts, including Bethpage, Brentwood, Port Jefferson, Westbury and Wyandanch. The audit period was from Sept. 1, 2007, to Oct. 31, 2008.

The state Education Department allows districts to set their own guidelines on the food sold in vending machines, while the federal government sets standards for cafeteria meals.

Giving districts control over those snacks isn't helping to make children healthier, DiNapoli said in a statement. "School vending machines filled with junk food, candy and soda is not the best way to fight childhood obesity." he said.

DiNapoli's concerns echo the findings of last year's Newsday series about Long Island school food. The articles included one that examined vending machine contracts in which districts received thousands of dollars and athletic equipment in exchange for exclusive vending rights.

Westbury was in compliance with its own standards, but Brentwood, Wyandanch and Port Jefferson sold snack items in violation of district standards, DiNapoli's report said.

And Bethpage's "wellness policy does not detail nutritional standards that guide the food and beverage choices provided or sold to students," the report said.

In response, Bethpage officials wrote DiNapoli's office, saying the district planned to review its policy, including possibly changing or limiting the kinds of snacks sold.

Problematic snack offerings in Port Jefferson included vanilla cream cookie sandwiches, pink lemonade and BBQ-flavored corn chips, the report said.

Port Jefferson "will review its offerings of competitive food to its students to support their healthy food choices," Superintendent Max Riley said in the district's letter of response.

DiNapoli's audit recommends that districts adopt the nutritional standards offered by the Institute of Medicine, an independent health care advisory group.

In her response letter, Brentwood Superintendent Donna Jones pointed out that, while the federal government has looked to the Institute of Medicine for recommendations, those results were not shared with school districts.

"It is, therefore, unjust to use these standards as a basis for your report," Jones wrote.