Blue Valley North High School has instituted a new district-wide policy regarding the sale of snacks and limitations on caffeinated beverages. Caffeinated drinks can only be sold if they contain 100 milligrams of caffeine or less. This is in effect to meet the Smart Snacks in Schools regulations, set forth by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and will have an impact on BVN. According to a national study from the University of Michigan Health, 31% of teenagers consume coffee, and 22% of teenagers consume energy drinks. The USDA regulations will affect the school store.
School store manager and teacher Keegan Briggs shared how the new policy will affect the school.
“I know that students are pretty disappointed because they really like their caffeine, it’ll be really interesting if they actually drink less caffeine or if they just start getting their caffeine from other sources,” Briggs said.
Students could potentially utilize outside sources to purchase caffeine, which could undermine the new limit.
“I think the district’s main concern is making sure that students aren’t getting the caffeine from the school,” Briggs said. “So, putting it more on the parents and students themselves, just not allowing them to get that much caffeine from the school.”
Senior Caleb Jeong was asked how he would adapt to the new limit.
“[I will] one hundred percent, just gonna start buying an energy drink before school,” Jeong said.
According to Mrs. Briggs, caffeine is the school store’s most popular item amongst students, and she is aware of the disappointment of students and how they can rely on their drinks.
“Definitely in the mornings and then the afternoon I need a couple of energy drinks or some coffee,” Jeong said.
Another question that was raised was whether students can purchase multiple drinks, which would exceed the caffeine limit.
“Based on the wording of the district policy, there is no limit on the number of drinks you can buy,” Briggs said. “But I would not be surprised if the district adds that in later.”
The caffeine limit isn’t the only new regulation on what the school store can sell, as there are various new items that will be affected by the Smart Snacks guidelines.
“We also have to reassess our snack items to make sure that they follow the smart food guidelines, so that’s gonna definitely [going to] cause some changes,” Briggs said.
This will affect the school store and money coming in, as energy drinks provide a majority of the sales.
“My students and I have already started talking about how this could impact us because our sales from energy drinks are the majority of our sales; that’s basically what we use to fund other projects, to design shirts, to design sweatshirts and to get stuff for the football games. So it’ll be interesting to see how we have to pivot,” Briggs said. “So far, we haven’t seen too big a hit. It seems like students are okay just getting the less caffeinated drinks, but it’ll be interesting to see how it changes as we have to limit the types of snacks we have to offer.”
Briggs shared that she understands the district’s best interests in student health, but also student frustration that could stem from it.
“From a student health perspective, I do agree with what the district is trying to do. Based on what I’ve seen, it’s really not healthy for teenagers to consume as much caffeine as they do in the school,” Briggs said. “It’s hard for me because I want our students to have what they want, but also from a perspective as an adult who cares about them, I don’t want them to overdo it on caffeine and that can cause health issues down the line, so I don’t blame them [the district] for having our students health in their best interest.”
