The Ministry of Tourism, Sport, and the Arts sent out a recent press release touting its School Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program. The big news is that as many as 50 schools throughout the province will have the program in place this year, with the goal of all schools taking part by 2010. It’s a great start to getting rid of all the crappy junk food on offer in our schools.

But how effective can the program be when the Vancouver School Board doesn’t even practice the principles of healthy eating? Go to the board’s cafeteria at its head office, open to the public and located at 1580 West Broadway, and order lunch: along with your roast beef sandwich you get a side of ripple potato chips. You don’t get any choice in the matter, nor do you have the option of asking for a slice of fruit instead.

If the head honchos at the school board insist on eating chips every day with lunch, how can they possibly expect young students to make healthy food choices? They need to be role models. Duh.