The salad bar, located next to the school lunch line, is hopping, not so much with health conscious vegetarians as with those piling cheese on their chili dogs or sullying their baked potatoes with ranch dressing.

The lunchroomÕs seating area Ñ greatly improved since the days of folding tables with round, attached stools ÑÊis sunny and open, with high ceilings and real chairs, which donÕt always hold up to the abuse of one of high schoolÕs most active social scenes. Chowing down on chili dogs and fries, Chelsey Welch, a junior, and Sandy Mavvitt, a sophomore, seem satisfied with their selections.

I think itÕs good, Welch said.

I think itÕs healthy enough, Mavvitt said.

Their sentiment is not altogether unfamiliar. Students are paying little attention to their diets, a practice learned from our fast-food nation Ñ parents who eat donuts for breakfast, a Big Mac for lunch, take out for dinner. The days of freshly harvested fruits and vegetables, and home cooked meals held around the dining room table at a routine time every night are gone. Cheap and convenient seems to be the way to go.

And who could blame them? After a long workday, picking up a pizza and a six-pack of soda sounds way better than going home to make baked chicken with carrots and little green peas, accompanied by a glass of skim milk.

The growing epidemic

The pleasures of convenience, a general lack of knowledge regarding proper nutrition and a more sedentary lifestyle have led to a nationwide epidemic Ñ obesity. But this is not simply an exercise of an individualÕs right to consume what they see fit; it is a matter of what we are teaching our children.

According to 2004 statistics from the area health departments, nearly 47 percent of children in Jackson County and just slightly more than 47 percent of children in Swain County are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. In Haywood County, 57 percent of children are overweight or at risk. In Macon County, slightly more than 42 percent of children are overweight or at risk. Overweight is defined as 10 percent above ideal body weight and obesity as 20 percent above ideal body weight.

This is a problem associated with all of the leading causes of death in Haywood County and deserves great attention by citizens and professionals alike in prevention and curative efforts, states Haywood CountyÕs 2004 Health Report.

Statistics like these are serving to raise awareness of a very real health problem and are giving way to revamped school nutrition programs. The programs aim to cut calories and fat and provide kids with more of what they should be eating, while balancing the habits of finicky eaters with lunchroom economies. ItÕs not an answer, but itÕs a start.

We donÕt feel like these changes are going to significantly change the childhood obesity rate, but it will help to send a consistent message about healthy choices, said Connie Sutton, Swain County Health Promotion Coordinator.

Swain County ÑÊfive years in to its mission to improve school nutrition with strict classroom party policies in place, removal of snack machines in elementary schools, healthy vending machine selections in high school, and a move toward baked, not fried, items in the lunchroom ÑÊis ahead of the game. Jackson County is about two years in to the switch, gradually adding healthier items and removing those like whole milk. Haywood County, despite health department enthusiasm, has been slow to come around.

WeÕre really just starting to think about where to make changes, said Kathy Keogh, chair of HaywoodÕs School Health Advisory Council.

A model student

Prompted by childhood obesity rates, Swain County Health Department employees, school officials, teachers, parents and community members banded together to address nutrition in the schools. The group looked at everything from classroom parties to snack machines to cafeteria meals.

We found that there were on average a large number of parties being done each year, Sutton said.

Parents would bring in traditional party fare Ñ cupcakes, Kool-Aid, chips, candy Ñ for birthdays and holidays. Say there are 25 kids in a class, thatÕs potentially 25 parties, plus those for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, ValentineÕs Day, Easter, etc. To curb the sugar intake, the group devised a policy that limited parties to one a monthÊÑ for instance, one party for all November birthdays Ñ and encouraged teachers to combine special occasion parties with the birthday parties.

Letters were sent home to all parents explaining the new policy and asking that instead of cupcakes, parents send something healthy ÑÊapples, pretzels, juice boxes. While health department workers presented the policy to teachers during faculty meetings at first, that task has now been passed on to the teachers themselves. The move helps teachers develop a sense of ownership in the effort, and gives them a chance to note their own successes, perhaps passing on a new 10-minute in-classroom exercise activity they developed or healthy snack for test days theyÕve found to be popular.

In terms of vending machine snacks, the school system has limited soft drink purchases to only after lunch in the middle school and high school and increased the availability of water and 100-percent juice drinks. Snack machines contain 80 percent items from the WinnerÕs Circle Ñ a pre-selected list of items known to meet nutritional requirements. Elementary schools donÕt have snacks period.

In the cafeteria, fryers have been replaced with ovens, allowing for baked chicken and hamburgers. High schoolers only get fries two days a week, elementary school kids maybe once or twice a month.

But all of these changes havenÕt been easy.

We have kids that complain, we have teachers that complain, said Swain County Schools Food Services Director Diane Shuler.

Yes, the fresh fruits and vegetables and the whole grains are more expensive. Yes, there will be whole servings of steamed broccoli and unopened bananas in the trash cans. Yes, the focus on nutrition places a financial strain on school lunch programs, which unbeknownst to most are self-sufficient.

Some months the other schools are what carry our high school cafeteria, Shuler said, noting how younger kids are more adaptable to change and, surprisingly, less picky.

But itÕs a matter of toughing it out, if for no other reason than itÕs the adult thing to do.

The kids will find something to eat, Shuler said.

60 cents at a time

Junk food, however, is a lucrative business. At Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva, drink and snack machines in the school hallways and lounges bring in $8,000 to $12,000 a year, said principal Alex Bell. Money from those machines generates general school funds, which can go toward any school need.

The financial side of snacks in the schools is most likely part of the reason for some systemsÕ slow conversion to a healthier lifestyle.

YouÕd have a mutiny on hand if you took all the soda machines out of Smoky Mountain High School, said Jimmy Buell, Jackson County health promotion coordinator, noting the machinesÕ monetary might.

Haywood County Superintendent Anne Garrett acknowledged junk foodÕs financial contributions as a stumbling point in school nutrition discussions as well.

ItÕs a very big consideration, Garrett said.

ItÕs revenue that schools would not normally have to do things on their campus, she said.

Efforts to replace junk food with health food often lose support just for that reason.

(The Jackson County school nutrition director) cut some of the unhealthy snacks out and tried pretzels and yogurt, Buell said. She lost a little money on that.

Plus, the connections with vending companies draw in scholarship contributions and lead to donations for school events like the prom.

TheyÕre really good partners for the school, Bell said.

Legalizing good habits

But that connection is not enough of a reason to continue to provide children with foods that lead to health problems when consumed without moderation, said Sen. William Purcell, D-Laurinburg.

Purcell was the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 961, which was passed in the state General Assembly this August. The bill prohibits use of cooking oils or selling of commercially processed foods that contain trans-fatty acids (think Oreos) in schools.

But moreover, it forbids the sale of soft drinks prior to lunch; forbids their sale in elementary and middle schools; mandates that at least 50 percent of drink offerings in high schools are not sugared carbonated soft drinks, which makes an allowance for diet sodas, and mandates that bottled water is available in every school that has beverage vending.

The bill has been adopted by the American Beverage Association as a standard across the country, Purcell said. I think we may have a little influence not just on North Carolina, but across the country.

As an add on, the bill mandates that by 2007 school vending must meet N.C. Eat Smart Nutrition Standards, such that no snack vending is available to elementary school students and 75 percent of snack vending products in middle and high schools contain no more than 200 calories per portion or snack package.

But asked if the effort to remove snack vending from schools would be met with an effort by the state to replace the missing revenue, Purcell could only say that a committee had been formed.

I donÕt know what will come of that, he said.

Having the usual

In addition to the problem of finding ways to finance healthier school lunches is the challenge of knowing just exactly what is in a particular meal at a particular school. Nutritionists often have a difficult time determining the nutritional breakdown of similar meals served at different cafeterias.

Cooks may make the same basic thing Ñ spaghetti Ñ differently. An extra can of tomatoes here, a pound less of beef there. Jackson County is in the process of standardizing school menus, meaning spaghetti will be the same at Scotts Creek Elementary as at Cullowhee Valley School. Haywood County is looking into a similar labeling process so that the nutritional values of school meals are available.

But standardization can have negative associations, at least in the sense of meals becoming routine.

All the sandwiches get old because they never change, said Smoky Mountain High School freshman Shane Brown.

Yeah and the breakfast never changes, said fellow freshman Kayla Loftis.

The plea is for something different.

They need more options for the breakfast menu definitely, said senior Katlyn Brahmer.

The call for change reinforces the fact that students who eat both breakfast and lunch in school cafeterias are basing 10 of their 21 meals each week on selections like scrambled eggs and sausage, pizza and corn.

ItÕs nasty, I only eat burgers and fries every day, said freshman Deborah Mathis.

But having more options may not be as attainable as students would like.

Some kids think you should have a set up like a mall does. Well, financially we canÕt do that, said Swain County Food Services Director Diane Shuler.

So the issue becomes about more than simply providing a wider variety of healthier food Ñ because just putting a bowl of apples next to the chili dogs doesnÕt mean kids will know why itÕs important to pick one up.

Therein lies yet another facet of the school nutrition issue Ñ education.

ItÕs hard to make choices as an adult, so I think itÕs especially hard for children that when theyÕre standing in a food line to decide between an apple, which may not be the best apple, and a Little Debbie Cake, said Kathy Keogh, chair of the Haywood School Health Advisory Council.

For example, in Jackson County teachers in grades 1 through 4 are learning new ways to incorporate nutrition into their lesson plans. But schools canÕt be the only source of a childÕs nutrition education, officials say. ThereÕs a partnership that must be formed so that schools reinforce healthy habits parents have taught.

The schools are only one part of it, you still have parents that go through the fast food places on their way to basketball games, said Jimmy Buell, Jackson County health promotion coordinator.

Like with so many other life issues Ñ tobacco use, monetary responsibility, spousal relations Ñ when it comes to eating, children model their parents. If fried chicken and Cheetos, or a tofu and spinach salad are whatÕs for dinner, thatÕs going to be what children are apt to recognize when making independent eating decisions.

I strongly believe kids are only going to eat what theyÕre used to eating, Shuler said.

Which isnÕt to say that fried chicken and Cheetos arenÕt OK in moderation Ñ itÕs just about learning how to eat a balanced meal and take care of your body. And by the time kids reach high school, their eating habits are probably set.

I think in most cases those kinds of seeds should have been planted early on in the developmental years, said SMHS Principal Alex Bell.

Mouth to hand

There is no one guaranteed successful formula for making the switch to healthier snacks and meal choices within the school system. The problems each community faces are different, from financial constraints to childrenÕs health issues, the grassroots demand from area parents to the willingness of school officials.

I think you have to cater to your community, Shuler said.

I think every director needs to take an approach that is appropriate for them, she said.

Many of the changes in SwainÕs program have come about Ñ and will continue to come about Ñ with the start of a new school year or the return from Christmas break, times when students are not used to eating cafeteria foods and may be more accommodating to change.

But a focus on healthy eating also must be carried over into the community Ñ local restaurants may be willing to mark healthy items with a logo students recognize to help them choose foods that are good for them, recreation departments could agree to sell juices and waters instead of soda at ballgames.

It takes the whole community supporting what their kids are hearing, said Lorna Barnett, director of Jackson CountyÕs Community Health Link.

And in conjunction with eating healthy are programs such as Eat Smart, Move More, which encourages physical activity, in school and just for fun.

I bet my bottom dollar that there are probably some policymakers that donÕt realize that a student in Haywood County has maybe an hour of PE a week, said Amy Hendricks-Thomason, the Healthy Haywood Coordinator.

At Jonathan Valley Elementary in Haywood County, students will kick off a new program on Nov. 15 called Kids on a Roll, which aims to develop bicycling skills and motivation to be physically active through an outdoor biking club and use of mountain bikes and Gamebikes Ñ pedal bikes connected to popular game stations Ñ during the school day. Instead of rewarding kids with candy, theyÕll instead get a chance to burn off some steam, and some calories, with physical activity.

What we have to do is change the mentality, Hendricks-Thomason said.