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Seattle wins award for offering healthier food options in schools and community centers

caption: Cities may not be in the business of selling food, but they could determine what gets sold on the premises.
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Cities may not be in the business of selling food, but they could determine what gets sold on the premises.
KUOW Photo/Anna Boiko-Weyrauch

Cities may not be in the business of selling food, but they can determine what gets sold on public property — which includes schools, community centers, senior centers, and parks.

Seattle is one of nine cities getting praise for implementing policies to help fight obesity.

The city got a gold medal from CityHealth for offering healthy food options in public spaces. Since 2017, the non-profit has been assessing whether local policies improve people's health.

“We’ve all had that moment where you’re really hungry … you run to the vending machine and your only choice is a bunch of super high sugar, very low nutrition candy bars," said Shelley Hearne, president of CityHealth. "That’s not a choice.”

Hearne said that changing food procurement policies doesn't just help people make good decisions. “It’s what consumers want,” she said.

Last year, Seattle got a bronze medal for applying nutrition standards for its vending machines. Now, all foods sold on city property have to meet those standards.

And that decision has earned the city a gold medal.

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