Soda pop is now banned from California school campuses. It's the latest move to keep unhealthy foods away from school kids.
A year ago, the state required elementary and middle schools to stop providing soda or allowing it to be sold in school vending machines. The ban has now gone into effect for high schools as well. The prohibition of the sugary drinks is one in a series of laws meant to get unhealthy fare off school campuses. Two years ago, the state withheld funds from schools that continued to serve food with trans-fats.
Phyllis Bramson-Paul is director of nutrition services with the California Department of Education. She says the point is to attack obesity.
"Obesity is just reaching crisis proportions," she says, "and while schools are not responsible for that, schools can certainly play a role."
Bramson-Paul says schools are allowed to provide students with water, milk, juice and electrolyte drinks that meet sugar content guidelines.
