Senior Beatrice Ohene-Okae has been known to drink diet coke in her Oceanography class. Her friends warn her about her bad soda habits, but she doesn’t care. Her experience of drinking sodas in class is one that FCPS attempted to stop for students by banning soda vending machines during school hours. Now, some parents and school board member Ryan McElveen are working on a movement to stop the sale of soda in schools completely.
“I do think my soda drinking is a problem because diabetes runs in my family and I’m an athlete,” Ohne-Okae said. “But it’s so good and it helps me concentrate and stay awake in school.
In fact, if I couldn’t drink soda in school it’d be reflective in my schoolwork because it helps me cope with stress.”
According to McElveen, the movement will get community input and communicate with other school board members. Officials are currently reviewing food services in FCPS.
“I don’t want to take away the [vending] machines. I want to substitute [sodas] with something healthier,” McElveen said.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 43 percent of soft drinks that are consumed daily are obtained from school. Although soda machines are only turned on after school, on weekends and during holidays, parents in Fairfax County believe that soda machines are sending the wrong message to students about good eating habits.
At AHS, there are eight vending machines. Four of these sell Veryfine and Powerade products, while the other four sell Coca-Cola products. Soda machines are turned off during school hours, but some students have been able to buy a soda during school hours sometimes. In addition to these vending machines, the snack bar in the athletic lobby is open after school until 3.
AHS parent Karen Neal, mother of senior Kurtis Neal, volunteers at the athletic lobby snack bar after school every Monday.
“We sell about five sodas every day that I work, which is not as much as you’d think,” Neal said. “I’m glad to see the students that come by don’t buy sodas before practice; they usually just buy Gatorade.”
Ohne-Okae is one of several students that has doubts about banning soda sales in school.
“I feel that if the need arises, kids will still find some way to get their soda,” Ohne-Okae said. “I understand that this movement is to promote healthier habits, and I do think some people may stop, but I think they will still find a way to drink soda.”
“I think students would still manage to drink soda if [FCPS] banned soda sales in schools, just not as many,” senior Kalie Rosati said. “I’d just bring my own.”
Although students have doubts about the effort to ban sodas, Neal is confident in the movement.
“I 100 percent think it would work,” Neal said. “As a parent, I allow my son to drink soda, but he makes the choice not to on his own because he is athletic and realizes that there are healthier choices. I’m glad to see the students that come by the snack bar can make the same decisions.”
