Kids Speak Out About
School Candy Sales
Custom candy premiums and novelty packaging company Strottman International asked its panel of “Kid Engineers” to address the serious issue of candy sales in schools for this month’s feature.
Does your school sell candy or other snacks? If so,
what kinds do they sell? When and where in school is it sold? If not, why
don’t they sell it?
They used to sell candy at school, but they got rid of
it ‘cuz in California there’s like a law that bans it. They
can’t sell soda either, but they still sell ice cream. I don’t
really get that because it has the same stuff in it [as candy], but they
say ice cream has milk in it so they can sell it. But then chocolate has
milk too. I think it’s unfair that they sell ice cream and not
chocolate. We should make our own decisions of whether we eat healthy or
unhealthy.”
—Akemi, 15
No, they have a snack bar that sells fruit snacks
— those chewy fruit snacks. They don’t sell candy because the
sugar rush makes the kids hyper and also kids will try to eat it on the
playground, where they’re not supposed to. It’s getting hyper
and the noise in class from the wrappers that are the main problems. And
also candy’s not the healthiest choice. … It’s not really
fair for them to have fruit snacks and not candy — fruit snacks are
very much like candy. I think they should also have candy, but they should
only let you eat it at lunch.”
—Sydney, 12
Yes, they sell it at snack and lunch time. They sell
bags of M&Ms, single Twix bars, and Snickers. They sell them in the
snack line with chips and soda. Sometimes you have a little craving for
chocolate, and that helps during the day. If parents didn’t want
their kids to have candy, they can just send their kids to school with
lunch from home.”
—Sara, 16
They used to have a student store, but the parents
complained that there was too much sugar available and they wanted the
school to be healthier. I don’t think it’s going to make a
difference because they still sell candy in the vending
machines.”
—Katharine, 14
No, they never did. I think they’re trying to
make healthier choices for kids. They used to have bigger and more fatty
foods, but now they have cut down on all that sugary stuff.”
—Christian, 12
The school sells Pop Tarts and chips. They used to sell
candy.”
—Johnny, 14
For more information on Strottman
International and its "Kid Engineers,"
call Jay Zemke at (949) 623-7906 or
e-mail zemke@strottman.com.
