Seattle district's snacks sized up

Plug a few key numbers into the district's new online nutrition calculator, and children, parents and community members can determine whether that healthful-looking PowerBar or small bag of pretzels is as nutritious as it first appeared.

The calculator (www.seattleschools.org/area/nutrition-svc/calculator/calculator.html), which was introduced late last week, will be a "great educational tool," said Kirsten Frandsen, a nutrition education coordinator who works with the Seattle district through the federally funded King County Steps to Health.

The Seattle School Board adopted the tougher standards in 2004, part of a comprehensive set of policy changes designed to reduce obesity, improve children's health and end the district's contracts with companies such as Coke through anti-commercialization rules.

Students began seeing the changes this fall. Rather than junk food, vending machines and student stores dispense only healthful snacks that meet nutrition standards for fat, sugar content and serving size. Soda machines were replaced with machines that sell only bottled water, fruit drinks or drinks with no more than 15 grams added sugar.

Beginning in June, the federal government will require school districts nationwide to have comprehensive nutrition plans. Many school districts in Washington already have policies in place, and Seattle's is seen as particularly progressive, partly because it calls for buying organic products when possible and includes anti-commercialization language, Frandsen said.

Although people generally have been supportive of the stricter policies, many parents and students still have trouble figuring out what foods qualify to be sold at the school under the new nutrition policy, she said.

"If it looked healthy ... it would pass the 'healthy' test," she said. "We needed to provide some guidance."

With the online calculator, students in Seattle can enter information from a snack's nutrition label into the online form, select "Seattle" from the small pull-down menu, then click "Get Results." The computer quickly calculates whether the food meets the district's criteria and flags in red the categories that are too high.

A recent check of a peanut butter-chocolate Luna nutrition bar, for example, revealed the otherwise healthful-looking treat wouldn't be allowed because the saturated fat content is higher than the district allows. A single-serving bag of pretzels, though, would make the cut, as long as the serving size was 1 1/4 ounces or less.

The Tukwila and Highline districts also have nutrition policies in place and are developing specific nutrient standards, Frandsen said. The calculator soon will be updated to include those values for students from those districts.

It's too early to tell whether the changes in Seattle have had significant effects, she said, but it was crucial to set better nutrition standards.

"Research shows the healthier kids are, the better they learn," Frandsen said. "We try to highlight that whenever possible. ... That connection is really, really import to us."

Although vending-machine sales have dropped a bit since fall, and open-campus lunch policies at Seattle high schools still allow students access to unhealthful snacks, anecdotal evidence suggests students are warming to the changes, Frandsen said.

A new, 15-member nutrition citizens advisory committee appointed last week is expected to monitor how the district's nutrition policies are being applied and will be able to suggest changes in the future.

P-I reporter Jessica Blanchard can be reached at 206-448-8322 or jessicablanchard@seattlepi.com.

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