Ban Candy Rewards & Food Dye in Fayette County Classrooms

This petition was created because the Fayette County Wellness Committee scheduled their once yearly meeting at 1:45pm on a Monday, with one week’s notice. It is impossible for most parents to attend (working and/or school pick), so I created this petition to demonstrate parent support for this cause.

These are our concerns regarding candy rewards and food dye:

The long-term effects of candy rewards in classrooms is overwhelmingly negative - food dyes linked to cancer and DNA damage, behavioral and psychological issues, increased risk for health problems in the short term (cavities, compulsive overeating) and long term (insulin resistance, obesity, stroke, etc).

The Wellness Committee as well as the members of the Fayette County Board of Education and Superintendent Patterson must take this research seriously and commit to changing policies in order to promote the welfare of our Fayette County children.

I have students in Fayette County elementary, middle, and high schools. During our three Meet the Teacher events this year, almost every one of my kids’ teachers asked for candy donations. One teacher joked, “kids will do anything for a jolly rancher.” This is not a joke. Our kids’ brains are being rewired - we may see positive impact on behavior in the short term but the long-term repercussions on our kids’ psychological and physical health cannot be ignored.

Candy rewards rob students of the opportunity to experience innate personal satisfaction - a much stronger and healthier motivator for students long-term and into their adult lives.

It is confusing for students when they are told to eat healthy foods but are rewarded with unhealthy foods when they have positive behavior or academic success.

Research indicates that children who receive candy rewards tend to overeat. As a result, their risk for unhealthy weight gain/obesity, insulin resistance/type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, cancer, respiratory problems, and even Alzheimer’s disease are increased. Studies show the effect of sugar on children is akin to the effect of nicotine, heroin, and cocaine. Sugar is addictive. “Indices of sugar intake have been associated with aggressive behavior, attention deficit, dysphoria, and suicidal thoughts” (The Case to Ban Sugar, PubMed).

Students demonstrate DECREASED academic performance when they are expecting a reward. Rather than doing their best, they do just enough to get the reward. Creativity is stifled when students are trained to do the minimum.

Candy rewards lead to sugar spikes, crashes, and mood swings, making it difficult for students to maintain self-control.

School administrations are out of touch with the amount of candy that is distributed in the classrooms. Several parents have told me their kids come home with pockets full of candy each week. Others have shared that their student “earns” a big bag of candy each day for hanging up their backpack or returning their take-home folder. And bus drivers regularly give out candy on the buses as well.

Per my request, my second grader receives stickers (that I provide) instead of candy rewards. She has earned as many as 19 stickers during one week of school. Those stickers would have been 19 pieces of candy if she was any other student in the class.

There are already numerous (non-candy) reward systems in place at our elementary school. The CDC also provides resources for healthy rewards: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/parentsforhealthyschools/pdf/P4HS_Rewards.pdf

Please ban food rewards and food dye in Fayette County classrooms.

Read more here:

“ The case to ban sugary food and drink from schools: these products are addictive, and kids will learn best without them”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25928991/

“Toxicology of Food Dyes”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23026007/

“Red 40 causes DNA damage”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37719200/

“Food color and autism”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32006369/

“Why parents shouldn’t use food as reward or punishment”
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=160&ContentID=32#:~:text=Giving%20sweets%2C%20chips%2C%20or%20soda,%2C%20fat%2C%20and%20empty%20calories

“Treat and rewards”
https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/consumers/healthy-eating/health-wellbeing/lets-change-our-future/swap-it-treats-and-rewards

“Why Kids Should Not Be Rewarded with Junk Food”
https://www.nutritioncareofrochester.com/article.cfm?ArticleNumber=58

“ Is brain response to food rewards related to overeating? A test of the reward surfeit model of overeating in children”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195666318302356

“Is sugar the world’s most popular drug?”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/05/is-sugar-worlds-most-popular-drug