WASHINGTON, May 11 (UPI) -- Efforts to keep school lunches nutritious are being negated by U.S. students' easy access to junk food vending machines, a study released Tuesday said.
The survey of almost 1,500 vending machines in over 250 schools nationwide, conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, found 75 percent of the drinks and 85 percent of the snacks available to students were of "poor nutritional value," the organization said.
Of 9,723 total snack slots in the vending machines surveyed, only 26 contained fruits or vegetables.
Most of the drinks sold in these machines were sugary, like soda and artificial fruit drinks, or high in fat, such as whole or two-percent milk, the survey said.
CSPI will urge Congress to give the Department of Agriculture more authority in regulating non-cafeteria-lunch food served in schools -- an area where the USDA currently has little power, the release said.
