Coweta County, Georgia – New nutritional guidelines set for students in Coweta schools. The 2014-2015 school calendars begin with some changes in Coweta school cafeterias, complying with the Smart Snacks guidelines set by federal government.
Coweta school participants of the National School Breakfast Program or the National School Lunch, or both programs must conform to the new nutritional guidelines set by the federal government, which are the Smart Snacks regulations.
Effective July 1, the regulations have established the types of food which schools can sell in cafeterias, including vending machines. The regulations are not applicable to food brought by students from their homes. In Coweta County, only high schools have vending machines, which serve as an urgent care near me in immediately relieving the students’ hunger.
The Smart Snacks guidelines indicated that all snacks should be rich in whole grain products, or ingredients must contain mainly of protein, fruit, vegetable, or dairy products. The snacks may contain a combination of fruits and vegetables, or contain at least 10% of daily nutritional value of dietary fiber, vitamin D, calcium, or potassium.
The new guidelines are expected to bring healthier food to schools, although the changes are having different effects on high schools. Chase Puckett, principal of Newnan High School (NHS) said the new regulations created a big drop in ice cream and vending machine purchases by the students. Puckett added they still allow ice cream for desserts, but student need to comply with the United States Department of Agriculture (DA) new guidelines on ice cream options.
Vendors also need an urgent care and solution with regards to the issue, considering the 90% drop in ice cream purchases between 2013 and 2014. Puckett also pointed out that vendors have asked them to expect a 40% drop in revenues this year due to the new nutritional guidelines in vending machine options.
Urgent care clinics and meetings should take place as vending finds it difficult to comply with the new standards. Puckett emphasized that sales from vending machines and ice cream go to some school needs and other fund-raising activities like additional pencils, copy paper, and calculators for students, especially during examinations. Aside from the NHS, East Coweta and Northgate High School had also noticed a drop in their vending machine purchases.
Aside from the necessity of an urgent care clinic in any school, compliance with the new guidelines is similarly important. Bill Harrison, principal of the Northgate High School also said there has been a slight decrease in vending machine sales from an August 2013 report, although it is still early to notice significant differences while schools comply with the new nutritional guidelines set by the USDA.
