For Immediate Release: Monday, February 27, 2017
Healthy Vending Choices’ bill to be
subject of Montgomery County Council
special event and public hearing
on Tues., Feb. 28
Councilmember George Leventhal is
lead sponsor of bill
that would require County vending machines
to carry at least 50 percent of items
meeting nutritional standards
ROCKVILLE, Md., February 27, 2017—The Montgomery County Council at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28, will hold a public hearing on proposed Bill 1-17 that would require all vending machines on County property to carry at least 50 percent of items that meet American Heart Association recommended nutrition standards for sugar, salt, fat and other measures. Prior to the public hearing, at 11:45 a.m. in the Council Office Building in Rockville, a special event will be held to provide details of the bill whose lead sponsor is Councilmember George Leventhal. Councilmembers Roger Berliner, Marc Elrich, Tom Hucker, Nancy Navarro, Craig Rice and Hans Riemer are co-sponsors.
The special event will be held at 11:45 a.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room of the Council Office Building, which is located at 100 Maryland Ave. The public hearing will be held in Third Floor Hearing Room. The public hearing will be televised live by County Cable Montgomery (CCM) on Cable Channels 996 (high definition) and 6 (standard definition) on Comcast; Channels 1056 (HD) and 6 (SD) on RCN; and Channel 30 on Verizon. It also will be available live via streaming through the Council web site at http://tinyurl.com/z9982v8 .
At the event, Councilmember Leventhal, who chairs the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee, will be joined by Council colleagues, other elected officials and representatives of organizations that are seeking to improve the nutritional value of items sold through vending machines.
The proposed legislation would make healthier packaged snack food and drinks more widely available in vending machines on County property. Bill 1-17 will add healthier options to vending machines, but still allow for less healthy choices as well.
If approved, healthier items would be offered along with chips, candy and regular soda. For the next two years, 50 percent of snacks in machines on County property would need to meet American Heart Association recommended nutrition standards for sugar, salt, fat and other measures. After that, the percentage of healthy food and drink offered would rise to 65 percent. Every drink machine would also offer bottled water.
“As chair of the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee, I am always on the lookout for ways to help our employees make healthier lifestyle choices.” said Councilmember Leventhal. “Bill 01-17 does not dictate what people can or cannot eat—it simply mandates that our vendors provide healthier options.”
Between Fiscal Year 2006 and Fiscal Year 2017, County Government expenditures to provide health insurance to current and retired employees increased by 72 percent, from $83.3 million to $143.1 million.
Almost one in four children in Montgomery County is not able to maintain a healthy weight. This rate outpaces the national average. More than half of all adults in County adults are not keeping a healthy weight.
Healthy vending legislation was passed by the Howard County Council in 2015 and will be introduced to the Prince George’s County Council this year.
“We are excited about making the healthy choice the easy choice for everyone who lives, works and plays in Montgomery County,” said Executive Director Shawn McIntosh of Sugar Free Kids Maryland. “Passing this legislation is an achievable step for the County to promote health, increase access to healthy choices and help reduce the costly effects of medical conditions like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. By increasing choices for packaged snack foods and beverages in vending, we are aiming to make the County a healthier place to live, work and play.”
Advocates are using the hashtag #HealthyVendingMoCo to promote the legislation.
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Release ID: 17-060