Junk Food ‘Black Markets’ In Schools
Posted on 21 September 2007 under Food In The News, School Lunches
Yesterday, the CBC reported on the existence of a black market for junk food in public schools in Winnepeg, Manitoba:
At the start of the school year, pop, chocolate bars, cinnamon buns and french fries were replaced by bottled water, granola bars and potato wedges in vending machines and the cafeteria at Kelvin High School … More than 70 people have joined a Facebook site called “Bring Back Sugar to Kelvin High School.” Several students posted messages that say they are taking matters into their own hands … “We now have 2 black markets in Kelvin high school. I know of two students that sell out of there (sic) locker… I say we just exploit this and make our own money off this,” one student wrote.
Later in the article, an administration member offers his own words:
School trustee John Orlikow said the claims will be examined by the school’s principal, but he emphasized the measures aren’t as extreme as some students suggest … “Some people will be resistant to losing their junk foods. It’s not a ban. People can still bring their own. But we as a school division are not going to provide it,” Orlikow said … “If they really need a chocolate bar, they could bring it from home.” … The (FaceBook) website also contained claims that some of the treats brought from home were confiscated. Orlikow said teachers and staff might be confused about the policy because it’s new - it only took effect at the start of the school year.
The FAQ from the school district’s web site has this to say:
How will this impact on what students bring for lunch? Will the policy be enforced as to what students bring for lunch?
Schools cannot control what students bring for lunch. Hopefully through education of the students and information to parents, the choices that parents make in regard to school lunches will promote healthy eating.
The school system for the Manitoba province actually has a 66-page School Nutrition Handbook. This handbook is referenced within the FAQ, however the handbook is for the 2002-2003 school year. The following statement could be what the teachers use as justification for confiscating snacks brought in from home:
Recognizing the importance of role modeling in promoting healthy eating, teachers, administrators, and school staff should act as role models to promote healthy eating within the classroom and school environment.
Interpreted incorrectly, this kind of statement could certainly be used against the students and their parents in making their own choices.
You may be wondering why I’ve included a pic of the handsome Teen Tech at the beginning of this post. At Camp Tapico in Kalkaska the past three summers he’s worked in the camp store, which is where I took this picture. At the end of the season when they’re closing down the store, he’ll buy some of the store’s products for close to cost and re-sell those few items, making about enough money for the gas for the trip home. Heck, I’ve bought bottled Starbucks Frappuccinos from him myself. An enterprising young man, he currently has his own web design business, and will only be 18 at the end of November.
I could easily see him selling Starbucks Frappuccinos out of his locker at school. Would I be upset if I found out? Nope, not at all. In fact, I’d take him to GFS myself to get his stock.
Winnipeg in Manitoba is doing the right thing in controlling what’s in the vending machines in their schools. But I don’t consider what the kids are doing to be a “black market”. Instead, I consider it a democratic market where the kids and the vending machines are in competition. Some kids want the healthy products, while others want chocolate.
It’s called choice.
And it’s definitely a choice to be made within a child’s family … and nowhere else.
Wouldn’t it be cool if the school issued permits for these sales, ensuring the kids weren’t price-gouging and helping to keep the resulting funds safe? Wouldn’t it be even more interesting to have a class in operating a business where the kids could learn the right way to do these kinds of things, and then practice those lessons through these locker-based sales?
Sure, there’d be stumbling blocks, I won’t argue with that. But in the end, I do feel there are serious benefits and interesting lessons for the kids to learn through such a project.
My thoughts only, of course. Your mileage may vary.
Hey Aaron! Two Fraps, please!
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22 September 2007 @ 4:17 pm Posted by Steamy Kitchen
In high school I ran the black market for cinammon flavored toothpicks.
22 September 2007 @ 4:26 pm Posted by LunaPierCook
Steamy, that’s not a black market. That one’s kinda puce, but a little more mauve.