But will they eat it?

Chicago Tribune: In New York City starting this fall, missing from public school vending machines will be salty chips, candy, soda and Twinkies -- in other words, the four basic food groups of American youth.
Instead, their cafeterias will now serve such oxymoronic offerings as low-fat pizza and lean chicken nuggets. Butterless popcorn, more fresh fruits and vegetables and more fish also are on the new menu.
Education officials in New York have responded to the nationwide obesity epidemic among children by cutting down the calories, the salt, the fat and the junk in foods sold at school.
Nationwide, 15 percent of children and adolescents between 6 and 19 are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's twice the number of overweight kids that the nation had two decades ago.
The obesity found in nearly a quarter of American adults often finds its roots in childhood eating habits.
Those statistics, coupled with the health and emotional problems that accompany obesity, such as diabetes and low self-esteem, are causing school officials finally to wise up and take action about what kinds of food choices they offer kids at school.
This is a decision rightfully made at the district level, rather than by state or federal law. But the hope is that far more school districts wake up to the connection between academic performance, general health and a sensible diet.
Pros and cons
Some school officials say the presence of vending machines, an alternative to the hot lunch tray, is what helps keep high school kids on campus during the lunch hour.
It's also what keeps school bands uniformed, sports teams equipped and extracurricular clubs supplied -- particularly at financially struggling schools. Schools can make hundreds of thousands of dollars by entering into contracts with vending machine operators and junk food purveyors.
New York schools take in $12 million to $30 million in sales each year from vending machines.
But the considerable other costs created by obesity far exceed in importance those financial needs.
The CDCP puts the price tag for obesity at 300,000 lives a year and more than $100 billion in medical treatment, just slightly below the toll taken by smoking-related illnesses.
The trick, of course, will be spicing up that lower-calorie, healthier food enough to get kids to actually eat it.