The great cupcake debate: City School Board weighs policy changes

The Charlottesville School Board had a lively discussion Thursday about what some members see as a new menace on the horizon: the cupcake police.

The board voted unanimously to approve an overhaul to the division’s wellness policy to contain a heightened focus on combating what the division calls an “epidemic” of childhood obesity, and discussed a set of specific food restrictions that could eventually accompany the new policy.

A few members seemed uneasy about some of the proposed rules that could govern what kinds of food the division serves to its students, and when.

A restriction limiting birthday parties to once a month sparked some concern from members, who wondered what teachers would have to do if a parent brought in cupcakes for a classroom on their child’s birthday.

“Are we going to ask our teachers to be police?” said board member Llezelle Dugger. “I’m very uncomfortable with asking our teachers to police parents that way.”

Board member Guian McKee said he’s heard the same concern from principals and teachers.

“They do not want to be telling a parent who has brought cupcakes in that they can’t,” McKee said. “Where I’ve seen questions is, What about the parent that doesn’t know the rule, and has brought the cupcakes in. What do I do?”

Board member Kathy Galvin said the cupcake-policing scenario seemed a bit “Draconian.”

“I’m willing to put out there that the only thing we control is what we sell,” Galvin said.

Alicia Cost, the division’s registered dietician, also told the board that the proposed regulations would essentially bring an end to ice cream altogether, which could cost the division $87,000 per year in lost sales.

“Just keeping it because we make money off of it is not a good idea,” Galvin said. “I’m very uncomfortable that we’re making money off of selling ice cream.”

Board member Juandiego Wade suggested that instead of selling ice cream every day at Charlottesville High School, which is currently what’s offered, perhaps it could be cut back to once a month.

“It could be something you look forward to,” Wade said.

Cost also gave her opinion on a controversial topic that has become an issue in this year’s School Board election: chocolate milk.

Board candidate Ivana Kadija, a health coach who also serves as chairwoman of the School Health Advisory Board, has called for banning chocolate milk from school menus, but Cost said chocolate milk would be exempt under the proposed regulations.

Cost quoted from an Institute of Medicine report saying that exceptions could be made to sugar rules to “avoid eliminating popular dairy products.”

“So the Institute of Medicine ... is actually saying that there’s more value to the dairy products than to basically eliminate having chocolate,” Cost said. “I’m not saying that it has to be that way, I’m just looking at the literature that I’m comfortable with.”

The specific rules and restrictions are still being hashed out, and will be discussed again at the Nov. 1 meeting of the School Health Advisory Board, but administrators did provide a snapshot of the rules as they stood Thursday.

The regulations document contains a bulleted list of restrictions that will “enable students to make healthy choices.”

Sugars would be limited to 30 percent or less of total calories, or 15 grams per serving. Exceptions are included for 100 percent fruits and vegetables — and fruit and vegetable juices — without added sugars. Rules for dairy products are also less stringent. Nonfat and low-fat milk could contain no more than 22 grams of sugar per 8-ounce portion, while nonfat and low-fat yogurt could contain no more than 30 grams of sugar per 8-ounce portion.

Sodium would be limited to 200 milligrams or less per serving, while hydrogenated oils (trans fats) would be limited to one-half gram per serving.

The regulations would mean the end of sugary cereals such as Froot Loops and Golden Grahams, desserts such as ice cream sandwiches and sugar cookies and other snacks like granola and cereal bars, according to a sample nutrition analysis of food items offered by the division. Applesauce, carrots and yams would also run afoul of the sugar restrictions, but would be exempt under the proposed text.

Food rewards, or “treats,” would be banned on school grounds and at school activities.

Extra items that can be purchased from school lunch lines, snack bars and vending machines would all be subject to the limitations above, and “unflavored water, plain milk and plain-milk alternatives” would be offered as drink options.