SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley has personally prohibited all sugar sodas and candy bars from the city's 250 beverage vending machines, promising that the ban will extend soon to the 75 snack machines in city facilities, San Antonio Express News reports.
"I asked the staff to remove the high-calorie soda drinks from our vending machines," Sculley said. "I'm a fitness person, and I care about our employees, and I want them to be healthy. And I think this is a very small gesture."
The new city policy is directed only at vending machines and doesn't prohibit employees from consuming fatty or sugary food or drinks while at work ?" yet.
"But we don't have to promote it," Sculley said.
The Texas Health Institute said that the policy is believed to be the first by a Texas municipality.
"My hat is off to a government employee saying that a government facility shouldn't make it easy for people to be unhealthy," said THI president and CEO Camille Miller. "We know that whatever people have access to, that's what they're going to get when they're in a hurry."
The city's beverage machines now contain only water, juices, and diet drinks, a move that aligns with the city's wellness program, according to Sculley.
"We know that statistically that people who are overweight or obese have greater health problems than those who do not," Sculley said. "We're about educating community and we think we can lead by example."
San Antonio's purchasing director Janie Cantu has been renegotiating the city's contract with its food vendor to ensure that products meet public school nutrition guidelines. Those guidelines ban foods of minimal nutritional value, including sodas, gum and certain candies. And they also limit portion sizes. Chips, for instance, can contain no more than 1.5 ounces.
"Ultimately, that is the goal ?" we'd like to see people choosing healthier options," said Bryan Alsip, an assistant director of the Metro Health Department.
San Antonio, recognized as a city with one of the country's highest obesity rates, received a $15.6 million federal stimulus grant in March to fight obesity.