By Miryam Ehrlich Williamson

Ten years ago Yvonne Butler, a forty-ish elementary school principal, banned foods high in sugars and fats, as well as processed foods, from the school cafeteria. The results, she says, “were immediate: a significant drop in absenteeism, improvements in attention, and a general increase in energy levels and grades.”

It wasn’t easy to do. Children think principals can do anything, but in fact they’re often caught in a political vortex, subject to pressures from school system administrators, parents, and everyone who thinks s/he knows something about education or, in this case, nutrition. But Yvonne Sanders Butler, second of eight children born to Mississippi sharecroppers; holder of two doctoral degrees; recovering sugar addict and stroke victim, knew a thing or two about education, and nutrition – and politics. She gathered her facts, marshaled support, and she won.

Here’s a one-minute summary of what she accomplished. At the end of this article, you’ll find a link to the entire presentation.

Butler told an audience of nearly 100 at the April 24-26 Seattle Summit on Obesity about her mission and what called her to it. Her book, Healthy Kids, Smart Kids, sets out a nutrition plan for children designed to combat the epidemic of obesity and illness that threatens to make the life expectancy of the youngest generation shorter than that of their parents.

The canvas on which she painted her picture of robust good health for some 800 pupils is the Browns Mill Elementary School in Lithonia, Georgia, about 20 miles east of Atlanta, with a 2007 population of 2,368. This year, she’s helping 17 other schools become sugar free zones.
Her first addiction was to chocolate milk, which she discovered in second grade. Soon she was playing marbles with the boys in her school, and selling the marbles she won back to them for their milk money, which she spent on sweets. Overweight as a child, she was obese in her thirties. She suffered a stroke before she turned 40. Her doctor told her the next stroke would be her last and that she needed to lose at least 50 pounds. Butler’s mission in life became clear to her while she was recovering.

Today, she says, more children in fourth and fifth grade are committing suicide than any other age group. “Can you imagine being in the fifth grade and 250 pounds, not able to run and play with your classmates?” she asks. “Don’t our young people deserve the same chance that our parents and grandparents gave to us? Don’t they deserve to be happy? Do they deserve to be on dialysis at 18 years of age?

Lest you think Butler exaggerates the extent of the obesity crisis, consider these figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: In 1985, 17% of adults were obese; in 2007, 34% were. In 1985, 5% of children between 6 and 19 were obese; in 2007 the figure was between 17% and 19%.

To round up support, Butler first told the school superintendent what she planned. She got school parents together and showed them comparative test scores – the Browns Mill kids did no better on standardized tests than children in the inner city, and the Lithonia community, 80% black, was the second most affluent in the United States. What the two groups of pupils had in common, Butler told the parents, was a sugar-rich diet. The parents were sold.

When her opponents threatened to call in the US Department of Agriculture, which sets nutrition guidelines for schools, Butler sent school lunch menus to the agency for analysis. USDA declared the menus, which she supervises in daily meetings with the school cafeteria manager, to meet government standards.

But the best was yet to come: Atlanta is home to the Coca Cola Company, and the state had a contract to accept Coke machines in all the schools. When the truck came to Browns Mill, Butler barred the door. The delivery men insisted they must install the machines. Butler insisted they would not. Then, in a moment of inspiration, she asked if they had any water vending machines on the truck. They did. End of impasse. The Browns Mill kids can buy their water from a machine instead of drinking from the water fountain, the state’s contract with Coke is fulfilled, and the children don’t guzzle sweetened drinks that dull their minds and slow their learning.

Butler says there are 16,000 school districts in the United States. She tells her story in hopes of inspiring them all to do as she has done. It takes three weeks to make or break a habit, she says. In 30 days, at most, you are well on your way to success.

If the idea of a sugar-free school for your child speaks to you, here’s a suggestion: Get a few parents together to watch the video of Butler’s Seattle Summit presentation. Then plan your approach to the school administration. You may save a child’s life, and that child may be your own.

Posted on May 4th, 2009 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Nutrition