PORT ANGELES — The seven City Council members may establish a healthy food and beverage policy for city-sponsored meetings, events and activities.
Just don’t call them the food police, Mayor Cherie Kidd said.
The policy would become part of the wellness-program component of the city’s medical plan and help the city reduce its overall health insurance premium, city Finance Director Byron Olson said Friday.
As part of the insurance plan, the city is required to approve the policy, which would provide guidelines — not requirements — for food purchases.
By the end of 2012, all city departments will have spent a combined total of “well under $5,000” on food and beverages, Olson said.
“The primary goal of the wellness program is to educate employees to understand how to make healthy lifestyle choices involving diet, exercise, and addressing medical risk factors early on through prevention,” city Human Resources Manager Bob Coons said in a memo to the council.
The proposal, which he presented at the council meeting Tuesday, would not dictate what employees consume away from work or bring to work.
It includes 15 guidelines such as “avoid foods with added salt and sugar,” “avoid saturated and trans-fats,” provide pitchers of water at meetings and “consider vegetarian options.”
“This is only talking about what we purchase with city funds,” Coons said.
But it could have an impact on what’s available in city government vending machines.
“We are also aiming at modifying the options in vending machines to offer options that are healthy versus strictly candy bars, cookies and high-fat/high-calorie snack foods,” Coons said in the memo.
Council members said they wanted to make some changes in the proposal and will consider approving it at their Oct. 2 council meeting, which will be at 6 p.m. in chambers at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St.
Council members Max Mania and Sissi Bruch said the policy was too soft.
“I don’t see anything that has any teeth in it, no pun intended,” Mania said, adding that the policy as written is not likely to bring about a “culture change.”
Bruch said she would like to see measurable goals in the policy that “are actually making a change in people’s lives.”
Coons said the goal of the policy is not to dictate what people eat but to provide healthy options.
Kidd said she likes the educational component of the policy.
“I don’t want to be the food police,” she added.
“I’m not Mayor Bloomberg, and I don’t want to be.”
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a policy that was approved Sept. 13 by the city Board of Health that bans the sale of sodas and other sugary beverages larger than 16 ounces in city restaurants, movie theaters and other city-regulated food-service businesses.
“There is concern on the push-back from people when you are trying to tell them what to eat,” Coons said.
The policy also asks city employees to consider the “Sit for 60 and Move for 5 Model” under which attendees at city meetings would stand up, move, stretch or walk for five minutes.
Kidd said Friday she might use the sit-move-sit provision for City Council meetings.
She calls for at break at least once during council meetings.
“I would be happy to use it as a guideline,” she said.
“Meetings take on a life of their own and you have to finish one topic and get to another,” Kidd added.
“Sometimes it’s just good to stand up and stretch and take a break.”
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
