Sacramento Considers Breaking Healthy Snack Pledge Over Profits

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — City leaders will consider breaking their pledge to encourage eating healthy snacks, because they say the healthy options aren't profitable.

Evan McCutcheon encourages her three teenage kids to eat healthy snacks, and she likes what she sees in Sacramento's vending machines.

Four years ago, the city made a pledge to encourage nutritious eating by requiring at least half of all food and drinks to be healthy in vending machines at city buildings, parks and community centers.

"Honestly, you go for what you see, so if it's something healthy there that's what i'm going to go for," said student Atiya Fairley.

But now the city is set to break its own rules and begin offering more junk food. They say for economic reasons, concession companies are refusing to stock more than 25 percent nutritious snacks—a bitter number for healthy eating advocates, like Rosa Soto with the California Center for Public Health.

"When you offer more healthy options in a vending machine there's a higher chance that that person that child will make a healthier choice," Soto said.

With 36 percent of Sacramento children already overweight, some parents are concerned increasing unhealthy snacks will lead to more lifelong problems.

"Unfortunately, it's sometimes the only source of food that children have after school before they get home so it's definitely important to have healthy options available," Soto said.

California passed a law requiring 35 percent of all snacks in state buildings be healthy options.