School districts not happy with reversal of fried-foods ban

Students eager to purchase soda and fried foods when they return to school in the fall may be disappointed, despite Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's recent announcement that both will be welcome back on Texas public school campuses after a 10-year ban.

To the dismay of nutritionists and public health experts, Miller reversed the department's ban on soda machines and deep fat fryers in mid-June as part of a new state nutrition policy calling for more local foods, community engagement and training to help schools serve meals that are "attractive and taste great."

But many large school districts aren't warming to Miller's initiative.

"Despite the reversal, we believe the healthy changes that have been made to our school menus remain in the best interest of our students," said Melissa Martinez, a spokeswoman for the El Paso school district. "It also would be cost prohibitive to retrofit all of our kitchens with deep fryers."

Eight of the state's ten biggest school districts — Houston, Dallas, Cypress-Fairbanks, Forth Worth, Fort Bend, Northside, Austin and North East — also said they have no plans to serve fried foods or soda. Calls to districts in Katy and Aldine were not returned.