MARSHALL COUNTY, W.Va. — West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey recently announced statewide health initiatives which could soon impact schools on a local level.
Morrisey was joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last Friday to announce a series of initiatives to improve the health of West Virginians.
One pillar of the Trump administration’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiative is to ban harmful food dyes in school lunches.
Last week, the West Virginia Legislature passed House Bill 2354 which bans the sale of foods that include the dyes Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3. Morrisey then signed it into law.
“This week, we took away dye in school nutritional programs and food items throughout the state,” Morrisey said.
So how will this impact the lunchroom in local schools? Marshall County Schools Director of Student Services Casey Storm said they’ll comply starting in August.
“Having a quality school lunch program in important,” Storm said. “In our county, 74% of students eat school lunch on a daily basis.
“We comply with the law and our food service staff is currently working with vendors and suppliers to make sure there’s healthy dye free options available for our students.”
Other states that are banning food dyes include California and Virginia.
Storm said it’s more than just school lunches that could be impacted.
“I would say, in addition to the school lunches, we have snacks for extracurricular activities, so it would relate to that as well,” Storm said.
Morrisey added they also hope to focus on more exercise to create a healthier West Virginia.
“I’m thankful to the legislature for their leadership in passing this bill, and making West Virginia a leader, the first state in the nation to make sweeping changes to clean up or food,” Morrisey said.
“I’m hopeful this will bring a broader national discussion and FDA action so we can have more consistent policies across the nation.”
For more on the governor’s full health initiative, tap or click HERE.
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