Several
recent state and federal laws now require schools to provide free, fresh
drinking water wherever meals are served or eaten. Free water in meal areas not
only benefits students who cannot afford flavored beverages or who do not like
milk, it encourages all students to drink water, which is a healthier choice
than juice or soda.
While
providing free, fresh water in meal areas seems like a no-brainer, 25% of
California schools are out of compliance, according to the San Francisco
Chronicle.
A
study of 240 randomly selected public schools was conducted in 2011 by
researchers at UCSF, together with nutrition and health advocacy organizations
California Food Policy Advocates and Change Lab Solutions. According to the
study, the primary reasons schools did not provide the water was cost or
ignorance of the law.
The
good news is that the number of schools providing free drinking water in meal
areas increased after passage of a recent California drinking water law. The
bad news is that the law has no teeth: there are no consequences if a school
fails to comply. Furthermore, schools can opt out if it would be too burdensome
to retrofit cafeterias and lunch areas.
The
problem is not just one of providing water. Some school districts are doing
this, but the water they are providing is unfit for human consumption.
According to the Chronicle article, the
advocacy group Community
Water Center found a total of 119 violations from 2005
through 2007 at 47 of the 146 schools it examined in the San Joaquin Valley,
mostly for contaminants like bacteria, arsenic and nitrates.
The
article did not discuss what percentage of schools provide bottled water for
students to purchase.
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