BY CORRIE SANDERS, Junior
BLYTHEWOOD -- Enforcing the new rules of the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act has affected the students on campus at Blythewood High School during the 2014-2015 school year.
Fundraising is the biggest issue that has impacted Blythewood High School’s sports teams and different organizations.
Many new federal rules regarding healthy food at school has enabled Blythewood to provide nutritious meals and snacks for students.
¨School districts are committed to providing healthy meals to students, and NSBA has actively and long supported the federal school nutrition program," Executive Director Thomas J. Gentzel said in a Huffington Post interview.
The goal of the 2010 Healthy Hunger- Free Kids Acts proposed by First Lady Michelle Obama is to ensure students around the nation are eating healthy snacks and meals during school hours with the hope that the amount of children who are obese will decrease.
The rules implemented at Blythewood High are those of federal law.
According to Activities Director Fletcher Spigner, the new rules of this school year state there should be no selling of any food or candy during breakfast or lunch.
The Chick-fil-a and Hardee’s biscuits were removed from Blythewood because the food did not meet the federal standards of healthy choices, and it brought competition to Sodexo which is the large corporation at Blythewood who prepares and sells all breakfast and lunches to Blythewood students.
¨ Not having enough time to eat breakfast at home I always counted on buying a biscuit in the mornings before school,” sophomore Savannah Kitowitcz said.
According to Kitowitcz, it was quick and easy to buy Hardee’s biscuits in the morning as an efficient way to get a tasteful breakfast.
Taking away the selling of any other food or candy removes any competition for Sodexo thus requiring organizations to create new ways of gaining money for different curricular activities offered at Blythewood High School.
Specific snacks in the vending machines in the cafeteria were taken out and replaced with ¨Smart Snacks".
These are items that are considered healthy choices because they are whole grain and are under 170 calories. There should also be no bringing outside food for other students or selling of food during lunch time.
This act instills that the food being prepared in the Blythewood cafeteria is being bought and eaten.
¨It is difficult for me to pay the total amount of money out of pocket without the help of fundraising money from selling candy,¨ JV competitive and football cheerleader Jasmaine Sumpter said.
The removing of the candy sale fundraisers has presented an obstacle to Jasmaine this year because she depended on it for most of her financial aid.
According to Spigner, the rules concerning selling food during meal hours creates difficulties for sports teams and clubs at Blythewood.
For example, the football team fundraised $16,000 a year through selling Hardee's biscuits in the mornings, Spigner said.
With the knowledge of the football team being unable to continue this specific fundraiser this year, they are going to have to begin other fundraising methods including, but not limited to selling tee shirts, hats, school supplies, or organized tournaments.
