Coca-Cola is out, and soy milk is now part of San Francisco's official city policy.
Under an executive order from Mayor Gavin Newsom, Coke, Pepsi and Fanta Orange are no longer allowed in vending machines on city property, although their diet counterparts are - up to a point.
Newsom's directive, issued in April but whose practical impacts are starting to be felt now, bars calorically sweetened beverages from vending machines on city property.
That includes non-diet sodas, sports drinks and artificially sweetened water. Juice must be 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice with no added sweeteners. Diet sodas can be no more than 25 percent of the items offered, the directive says.
There should be "ample choices" of water, "soy milk, rice milk and other similar dairy or non dairy milk," says the directive, which also covers fat and sugar content in vending machine snacks.
It's all part of Newsom's effort to combat obesity and improve San Franciscans' health, similar to a national effort being championed by first lady Michelle Obama.
The mayor's administration points to studies linking soda to obesity, including a UCLA one released last year that found adults who drink at least one soft drink a day are 27 percent more likely to be obese than those who don't, and that soda consumption is fueling the state's $41 billion annual obesity problem. The study also found that 41 percent of children and 62 percent of teens drink at least one soda daily.
"There's a direct link between what people eat and drink and the obesity and health care crises in this country," Newsom spokesman Tony Winnicker said. "It's entirely appropriate and not at all intrusive for city government to take steps to discourage the sale of sugary sodas on city property."
Restricting soda
San Francisco certainly isn't the first municipality to set nutritional standards for vending machines on public property. The state and at least four counties have adopted or have recommendations for similar policies. Santa Clara County's policy, adopted in 2008, is not as restrictive as San Francisco's, allowing up to half of vending machine content to be standard soda. It's unclear how strict the other policies are.
Bob Achermann, executive director of the California/Nevada Soft Drink Association industry group, said he hasn't received complaints about San Francisco's rule, but said "it certainly sounds a bit proscriptive."
"This is all about choice. There is probably nothing more personal than what you drink and eat," Achermann said. "Singling out beverages in this whole equation of how to fight obesity is not going to be the answer."
A multifaceted approach
Newsom floated the idea last year of imposing a fee on retailers that sell soda but has yet to follow through with legislation. His administration says it's trying a multifaceted approach to tackling obesity, including the Shape Up San Francisco exercise program and periodic Sunday street closures to encourage outside activity.
"This is not about the soda police or a crackdown on soda," Winnicker said. "People absolutely remain free to choose to drink unhealthy sugary sodas anywhere they want."
Selling them is another matter.
While the mayor's order contains exceptions for vending machines covered under already negotiated contracts, it directs department heads to have new contracts conform to the new standards.
That's the case in the current bidding process for a five-year lease to run a cafe in the basement of City Hall. The vending machine requirement will also be included when bids go out for a cafe at the Hall of Justice, Deputy City Administrator Amy Brown said.
Chong Park, who's managed the City Hall Café for nine years, says she averages less than $100 a month on her cut from two gleaming red Coca-Cola machines at the doors to her cafe. But with the future lease on the space up for grabs, she's trying to bring the stock in her refrigerator cases in line with Newsom's directive, and that's going to impact her bottom line, Park said.
She gets about 15 percent of her business selling those sodas, and replacing them with 100 percent juice will be expensive, Park said.
"The future is going to be affected," Park said. "But I don't want to be in trouble with the mayor. I like him very much."
Reem Nasra, who runs the Mint cafe at the Civic Center branch of San Francisco Superior Court, has put in a bid for the City Hall cafe.
"As far as meeting the guidelines," Nasra said, "I don't have any issues with that."
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