PA School Limits What Snacks, Drinks Students Can Have

BEAVER COUNTY, PA — A western Pennsylvania school district is now putting a cap on what kind of snacks students can bring to its schools.

The Aliquippa School District in Beaver County said that effective Monday, it is limiting what snacks students can bring to the junior/senior high school.

Students now can only bring one bag of items such as potato chips, Cheetos, Doritos, up to 4 ounces.

Additionally, students can only bring one bottled or canned beverage up to 20 ounces.

"None of these allowed items are permitted to be opened," the district said on Facebook. "If they are opened or a student has more than the permitted quantities, they will be disposed of by security, administration, or other designated school staff members."

The snack size limits also apply to packed lunches, and the district said lunches will be searched.

The district made the change to its snack policy after it said students were bringing an excessive amount of snacks to school.

According to the district, that included shopping bags full of chips.

The district's Facebook post about the new snack limits prompted hundreds of comments, most decrying the policy change.

"Aliquippa has potato chip police? Kids eating lunch at 10 am need a snack and need to stay hydrated throughout the day," one commenter said. "Focus on education hours lost from covid and quit counting chips on the floor."

"While I realize I may not have the full knowledge regarding how a policy like this came to be, I urge the district to reconsider," another said. "It doesn’t seem to be an effective use of staff time, and is harmful to the students."

The district responded in part to the comments, saying concerned families should contact the principal at their child's building.

But the district also took note of the snarky comments.

"If you are an internet heckler continue as you were," the district said in a comment.