Bill Needed to Put Free Water on the California Lunch Menu

At many public schools in California, free water isn’t on the school lunch menu. According to California Food Policy Advocates, 40 percent of the schools that responded to their online survey said that students didn’t have access to free potable water in areas where meals are served. For students at schools where lunches are not provided for free, that means they must purchase bottled water.
California state Senator Mark Leno introduced a bill to change that statistic. The bill will require schools to provide students with drinking water free of charge. The bill passed the Assembly and Senate, and only awaits Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature to be passed into law.
“As we all know, young people are constantly bombarded by advertisements and pressure from their peers to consume junk beverages that are high in calories and sugar. Yet many students do not have access to free, fresh drinking water at lunchtime,” said Leno. In focus groups, students told researchers that they would drink water if it were provided.
Via the Los Angeles Times.
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