A U.S. Department of Agriculture rule bars schools from offering competitive foods, especially those with little nutritional value, at the same times that student meals are served.
If Mat-Su schools fail to comply, the district could lose nearly $1.75 million in federal meal money. So starting next fall, school administrators will move vending machines or block access to them during lunch.
State reviewers do not often bring back reports that vending machines are competing with school lunches, said Joan Gone, school meals administrator with the state Department of Education and Early Development.
"We probably do 15 or 20 reviews a year," Gone said. "It's not frequent."
Schools rely on vending machines to help pay for sports and other extracurricular activities. At bigger Mat-Su high schools, such as Wasilla, the machines bring in more than $40,000 a year.
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
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