No more Coke, but diet's OK
By Josh Baugh - Express-News

San Antonio Express-News

Web Posted: 05/18/2010 12:00 CDT
City Manager Sheryl Sculley has declared war on sugar.
Well, at least when it comes to sodas and candy bars. Sugary sodas no longer have a home in the city's 250 beverage vending machines, and unhealthy foods in the 75 snack machines in city facilities are next.


“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 policy is only for vending machines and doesn't ban employees from consuming fatty foods and sugary drinks at work.


“But we don't have to promote it,” Sculley said.


Camille Miller, president and CEO of the Austin-based Texas Health Institute, a public policy think tank, said she's unaware of any other Texas municipality that's adopted similar policies. New York City has similar rules, she added.


“My hat is off to a government employee saying that a government facility shouldn't make it easy for people to be unhealthy,” Miller said. “We know that whatever people have access to, that's what they're going to get when they're in a hurry.”


Making healthy items easily available is “just good policy,” she said.


The beverage machines now contain water, juices and diet drinks. At the One Stop Center on South Alamo Street, the vending machines accessible to the public were stocked with Dasani water, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke and Diet Dr Pepper...link to complete article