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School Beverage Guidelines
America's Students to See Changes in Beverage Options as They Return to School This Fall
Contacts:
Tracey Halliday
(202) 463-6718
AMERICA’S STUDENTS TO SEE CHANGES IN BEVERAGE OPTIONS AS THEY RETURN TO SCHOOL THIS FALL
BEVERAGE INDUSTRY EMPLOYS SENSIBLE APPROACH TO TEACHING KIDS THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING A BALANCED LIFESTYLE
WASHINGTON — As the class of 2019 embarks upon its first days of school, students across the nation will begin to see changes in their beverage options that will help them learn the importance of living a balanced lifestyle. These changes, implemented by the beverage industry’s new School Beverage Guidelines, will affect all beverages available throughout the school.
Working together with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association under the leadership of President Clinton and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, the American Beverage Association along with its member companies developed new School Beverage Guidelines that will positively impact the health and wellness of America’s schoolchildren for generations to come. As part of a broader effort to teach children the importance of balanced diet and exercise, students will have a broad range of lower-calorie, nutritious, smaller-portion beverage choices under these guidelines
“As parents, teachers and school administrators, we know that children may not always be thinking about nutrition. That is why we all need to work together to teach our children the skills
they will need to grow up healthier than ever—to balance calories consumed with calories burned,” said Susan K. Neely, president and chief executive officer of the American Beverage Association. “Schools provide a unique environment in which to teach those skills and, when coupled with greater physical education and physical activity, the new School Beverage Guidelines are a common-sense component of any comprehensive school wellness effort.”
The new guidelines build upon the school vending policy adopted by the beverage industry in August 2005 and are part of a comprehensive approach to school wellness. Serving as the beverage component of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program, the guidelines apply to all beverages sold at school during the regular and extended school day.
“The beverage industry has a long-standing belief that school wellness efforts must focus on teaching kids to consume a balanced diet and exercise more,” Neely said. “That is why we joined with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to develop new School Beverage Guidelines that provide more lower-calorie and nutritious or functional beverages. It is a meaningful approach to school wellness that will have real impact on the lives of children.”
The School Beverage Guidelines will provide elementary school students with: bottled water; up to eight ounce servings of milk and 100 percent juice; low fat and non fat regular and flavored milk with up to 150 calories per 8 ounces; and 100 percent juice with no added sweeteners and up to 120 calories per eight ounces. In middle school, beverage choices will be the same as elementary school except juice and milk may be sold in 10 ounce servings. High school students will have a variety of beverage options including: bottled water; no- or low-calorie beverages with up to 10 calories per 8 ounces; up to 12 ounce servings of milk, 100 percent juice, light juice and sports drinks; low fat and non fat regular and flavored milk with up to 150 calories per 8 ounces; 100 percent juice with no added sweeteners and up to 120 calories per 8 ounces; and light juices and sports drinks with no more than 66 calories per 8 ounces. In addition, at least 50 percent of the beverage selections in high schools must be water and no- or low-calorie options.
For more information on the new school beverage guidelines, please visit ABA’s Web site.
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The American Beverage Association is the trade association representing the broad spectrum of companies that manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages in the United States.