Perris, California, is on a mission to kick unhealthy snacks to the curb faster than you can say “cheeseburger!” Earlier this year, Perris’ City Council got together and unanimously decided to play food police in a hilarious way. They passed a law that basically gives junk food at supermarket checkout aisles a big ol’ boot out the door. No more sneaky candy bars and soda popping up at the register!
Here’s the skinny on the new rules: grocery stores, if they’re big enough (at least 2,500 square feet, to be precise), are now forbidden from selling snacks or drinks that pack more than 200 calories per package, have those nasty trans fats, get over 35% of their calories from sugar, or sneak in more than 200 milligrams of sodium. Sayonara, greasy potato chips and sugary sodas! Grocers will have to stock up on the good stuff instead, and they better get cracking because they’ve got until 2024 to make it happen.
Perris officials are hoping this law will turn their residents into healthy eating superheroes. You see, the city’s got its fair share of challenges, like high poverty rates and some not-so-healthy folks. About 11.5% of the population is dancing with the poverty line, and it seems like one in ten Perris adults is on Team Diabetes. Plus, one in four is practically a couch potato, and almost four in ten are living large in the land of obesity. Yikes!
But hold on to your carrot sticks, because not everyone’s on board with this healthy snack showdown. Big players like Stater Bros., a supermarket chain from San Bernardino, and the California Grocers Association are crying foul. They say this law is “unfair” because it doesn’t give convenience stores and other junk food joints a piece of the action.
Now, this isn’t Perris’ first rodeo when it comes to getting their residents to eat their veggies. Before the whole COVID-19 mess, they made it a law that fast-food joints could only offer water or milk as the default drink with kids’ meals. So, Perris is basically the superhero of healthy eating legislation!
Let’s see if this new law can turn the tide and make Perris the healthiest city on the block!
