The all-out junk food ban proposed earlier this year in the Santa Clara Unified School District has gone through a process not unlike what Goldilocks experienced when she visited the three bears’ house and saw three bowls of porridge on the table.
The first proposal — which banned unhealthy food sold or given away on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week — was seen by some as extreme. Others thought a reworked version was lax. Now, district officials hope, they have come up with something that is just right: a ban on selling or giving away unhealthy foods during the school day, while encouraging organizations to choose healthy options for half the food and drinks at after-school events.
“Nothing is ever perfect,” said board member Teresa O’Neill, a nutrition committee member who would have liked a stricter policy. “This is the reality.”