Clark County follows gut instinct on new policy targeting junk food
By Thomas Ryll, The Columbian Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
In a short time, there should be more fruits and nuts in Clark County government.
And no-calorie soft drinks, fresh vegetables, whole grains and bottled water.
Tuesday, the county commissioners approved a first-ever nutrition policy, aimed at knocking off a few of the calories that workers and the public in some instances inhale while at meetings, training sessions and events.
The new rules, while not intended to prevent employees from hauling in a triple-decker chocolate cake for the boss's birthday, require meeting planners and vending-machine stuffers to mix in a few healthful foods. "By following these guidelines we can promote better health and help reduce risks for chronic diseases," the policy says, noting the increasing rates of obesity that "make supporting nutritious choices at work part of our commitment to health."
The two-page policy was among a dozen consent-agenda items approved as a single handful, so there was no discussion.
Pete Capell, Clark County's public works director, was the instigator of the new rules and sat in the audience Tuesday. Capell is 49 but looks years younger; he ran his first marathon 30 years ago and has racked up 15 of the 26.2-mile races thus far. The last was in January in Phoenix and the next will be Portland's in the fall.
He's no food fuddy-duddy ("There is a time and place for chocolate. And you've got to have a good beer once in a while, too," he said) but he has been concerned about the food selections in county offices. Capell serves on a committee that is working to improve "work site wellness," and the county in 2005 and 2006 received $7,000 grants for its efforts from the Community Choices 2010 program.
The money was spent to establish and promote the program in 2005, and this year will pay for free samples, promotional materials and "healthy option meals and snacks" at county meetings.
The policy aims high, going beyond the low-fat, whole-grain regimen to require that vegetarian, organic, locally grown and culturally appropriate foods ("where feasible" for some of those items) are part of county events. Managers and supervisors are supposed to discuss the new rules at staff meetings within two months, and new employees are to hear the not-so-full-meal-deal during orientations.
No punishments, such as having to attend a planning commission meeting or read the county's zoning ordinance, are specified for offenders.
Capell's staff report includes a list of recommended foods for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and receptions. For example, it is suggested that desserts be offered in small serving sizes, such as pieces of angel food cake two inches square. As a guide, that would be almost exactly the same size as the magnifying glass that guests would need to find their pieces.
While the rules might make some readers long for a cheeseburger at 10 in the morning and a keyboard-sized candy bar at 2 p.m., they will no doubt be welcome to employees faced with nothing but Fritos and pork-fried rinds in vending machines.
Campaign already going
There is a risk, naturally, that some of the advice will fall on deaf ears or full mouths. Or be the equivalent of preaching to the choir, as opposed to reaching for the deep-fat fryer. There are posters advertising healthful eating at the county's Public Service Center in the building stairwell, where elevator-shunning, floor- hopping, calorie-burning employees and occasional visitors are most likely to be, and least likely to need the posters' advice.
Among them would be Capell, a habitual stair user. When the service center opened a couple years ago, he was among the employees who complained that the stairwell's one-way locked doors (allowing exit in an emergency, but no-entry to upper floors) were depriving people of one way to burn a few more calories going from office to office.
"We said, 'That's ridiculous, we need to be able to use the stairwells for exercise,'" Capell said. Revisions to the building's security scheme made it possible to open the stairwell for floor-to- floor use. Although, as is the case in many public buildings, for newcomers the elevators are much easier to find than the stairs.
While the new food policy's language as it regards employees is temperate "employees are encouraged to consider healthier alternatives when making food available for others" it is tougher on concession operators, who will be required to offer healthful foods. The contract term for the service center's food court, the Dragonfly Cafe, is nearing an end, and the county recently sought proposals from vendors interested in the business. Information mailed to potential candidates includes the gotta-have-something- healthful requirement.
Tuesday, the performance was decidedly mixed; the cafe's potato- chip shelves included baked chips and pretzels, but a case of snack items was awash in calories, featuring doughnuts, muffins and six kinds of candy bars.
No doubt there will be implications throughout the county bureaucracy, and the periphery as well. The Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council, while a separate entity from the county, has its offices in the Public Service Center, and the council's members meet there.
As a small inducement to sit through an hour or two of gnawing discussions on the six-year Transportation Improvement Plan and such, a substantial plate of substantial cookies greets the council members at each meeting.
"I guess we'll have to reconsider," said Dean Lookingbill, the council's veteran director. "We had given it some thought. Is this the best thing to serve at an RTC meeting?"
The irony here is that Lookingbill, like Capell, is a longtime runner, with a few marathons under his shoes as well. "I suppose we can shift to sugarless cookies or fruit or something," he said.
Although the way he said it, it almost sounded like, "I suppose we can gravel Interstate 5."