now for your sunday, viewpoint. >> good morning. i'm pat lawson muse. there's an effort under way to limit chips, cookies and sodas in vepding machines. a bill is being make healthier snacks more available and visible. there's support but also opposition. joining us are glen schnyder with the horizon foundation, lead partner with the group sugar free kids maryland. and the vice president of the delaware d.c. beverage association. let's start with your campaign in prince georges. tell us about it. >> sugar free kids maryland is a

eliminating diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay. and we want to be a group that prevents this next generation from living sicker, shorter lives than their parents. and unfortunately, because of sugar, that's possible. two out of three adults, 88% of teenagers all consume more sugar than they should have every single day, and it leads to poor being 10 years old and having diabetes is something strange. >> yes, but now your solution is to get a bill passed that would force the people who put these vending machines in county buildings and parks to change what they're putting in the machines. tell us what your bill would do. >> we don't see it that way. >> i used the word force. >> we're looking to make sure that people have access to

wherever they, whenever they need or want it. and this bill does that. it guarantees that at least half of all the offerings in a vending machine would meet strong, national health standards so that you know that you've got a choice. healthy choices just don't exist in most vending machines today. all the study the have shown that healthy food is really hard to find in most places where people want it. so this bill would change that. 50% of items for the first two years, and the vender still gets to choose whatever sorts of things they want to put into that, they can put it in. >> ellen, the beverage association opposes this. they don't think it's a matter of choice. >> no, we don't think it's a matter of choice, but we see new sizes and product the and a whole host of choices for mothers and adults. we take this issue seriously, and as an industry, we're taking

providing adults with choices, education is what we know is sustainable. passing laws and that have the impacts of absolutely bands and restrictions and higher prices. it's the wrong direction. one of the things i think we as an industry do very well, and that is set the right tone, take the lead, you know, i hold this up only because you see this on all the vending machines >> that says balance what you eat, drink. >> balance what you eat, think and do. and also oftentimes, legislation like this becomes a missed opportunity, you know. beverages, soft drink beverages are 6%, 6% of the american diet. and that leads a whole host of other holistic issues that we think need to be addressed. >> so you believe that it's not just what you drink. it's also what you eat. it's also how much activity you do or you don't engage in.

what we know to be true. soft drink consumption is on a 30-year low decline. obesity continues to be a problem. it's not what we know. we know what's sustainable. and we know that our consumers, our mothers out there, as a mother myself, how important it is to really send the right message of moderation in everything, but, again, we share the same goals. but, again, oftentimes we think continue to focus, like i said, 6% of average diet. a lot of people might not realize, you might. you're in great shape. 50% of the products we offer now have zero calories. there's no other food industry out there, people need to follow our lead, but legislation is the wrong direction. >> interestingly, your bill would not only require healthier

>> we are. we actually think that healthier food and drinks need to be placed appropriately so people can tell where they are, and to make sure they have access to them is number one, which this bill does. unfortunately, the access to healthy foods and drinks doesn't exist today. there are very few vending machines. some places have made the decision to do it. >> nbc 4 offers lots of good snacks. >> which is excellent. but the thing that ellen said we also would like to partner with the manufacturers of beverages particularly. they make all the healthier drinks we're talking about too. so it's interesting. there's probably two things that really set us apart from being partners. number one is their opposition to this sort of common sense law. and number two, the fact that they spend three quarters of their advertising dollars marketing the unhealthy drinks, rather than the healthy drinks. what would happen if they

something like that. use howard county, prince georges county, anywhere in the state of maryland as a pilot. >> can i just say we have to take a break, and when we come back you can talk about that, marketing. stay with us.

welcome back. so ellen, glen says much of what's being visiy thuny food. do you disagree with that? >> we do disagree with that. you have to look at where the consumers are going, where the market's going. you see these fierce beverage companies many which are located in prince georges county come together to have a real solution. and that's why you see our

balance what you eat, drink and do, and calorie counts at the tip of every finger. when you see in the grocery store, all the whole host of products. the calorie count is right there. the calorie count is right there. it was volume r indury >> manucade se,cari, u k l f. whs yo listi atou cngth labg done in regard to vending machines? because most of the products themselves are labeled. >> absolutely. so the drinks are certainly labeled with calories. the food items are not. so this would make sure that food items are also labeled

ellen said. it isn't just about the calories. one can, regular can of coke, is 120% of the recommended daily limit of sugar. just having that one coke is going to put you over the limit. you know, this is a very serious topic with all the diabetes and heart disease that we have in prince georges county, it's going to be important for us to take steps like this to make sure people have healthier food and drink available. that's what this is about. we all have ch a coke. if you want doritos, it will be there. it's to make sure the healthy choice is there too. >> for the beverage industry, i say to those watching, watch us go, what a change. go down the beverage aisle. this piece of government legislation being driven for government inintrusion. i mean the fact of the matter is this. we're there.

and government can step aside and let the consumers have choices and watch us show, give them education. >> what are some of the other strategies that you are advocating? i understand you're offering coupons, there are billboard campaigns to give people information about the fact that choices are available or that they should make better choices? >> listen, we have done and we're doing so much more. look at the products, sizes, calories on the front. new products coming into the market all the time. and we have a commitment to reduce sugar and calories from beverages and everybody's diet. and you see some of that already in the works. >> all right, glen, how much support is there in prince georges, and if it passes there are you going to try to expand the efforts, the state of maryland. >> sure. we have a lot of support in the county. there are a lot of organizations that understand the diabetes problems that we have there. they also want to see some key movement on making sure that

quick thing that ellen has said i think is really notable. until they start advertising the healthier things, a lot of the stuff that they have done is nice, but it's not going to get us to the point where we are able to avoid diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay. >> all right, glen schnyder and ellen belentine. and coming up, hunger, is it a hidden problem in the

thanksgiving is a time to celebrate with food, family and friends, but many families in our region won't have dinner for thanksgiving or many other days of the year, one in every five children faces hunger. here now to talk about ever orring to end childhood hunger is david sloan, the director of the maryland no kid hungry campaign. welcome. how bad is childhood hunger in this region?

country, and i'm so thankful that you're making time this morning to talk about the fact that in many cases it's in our face and we're not doing as much as we can. >> is it hidden? in the nation's capital, you would think because there are areas relatively affluent compared to other regions of the country that we have a handle on it, but it is hidden. talk about that. >> i think the issue that we've been trying to address for years is awareness. hunger dot is, but it's actually not only in the cities. it's in the suburbs, rural communities. in d.c., one out of every four kids faces the challenge of food insecurity. in maryland, it's one out of five. and virginia similar to that. >> when you say it's hidden, is it because we're not paying attention? or because there are pockets where the issue is not being addressed?

that goes on, you know, by partners, by school systems, by local governments, the issue of hunger in america is one that people don't register as a priority or something that they would think happens in their country, in their state, in their community. so when everyone picks a cause to champion, you know, we forget that the cause could be the kids right in your neighborhood who qualify for free, reduced meals and are in a situation where they're eating lunch at school and not eating and that's more common than people understand. >> if you look around the washington region, where would you say the most severe problem will be located? where are the hungriest children in our communities? >> so i think we have to look in the city, right, we know that of the school system, kids who go to public school, 77% are free and reduced. in those neighborhoods, you know the theater system, the kids that are hungry.

immediate area, there are pockets in prince georges, even montgomery, right, out to western maryland, southern maryland, where there are challenged communities, and folks in suburbs who have food insecurity challenges. virginia, again, across the state and northern virginia where you'd think it wouldn't be an issue, there are pockets of communities where kids face hunger every day. >> the school systems that have free and reduced-priced meals. how much are they helping, and are these programs used in a way that's most effective? >> that's a great question, and so no kid hungry focuses on making sure that every kid gets every meal every day by working through partners like school districts, like town municipalities and other partners on the ground. schools are a central, i don't want to say they're a central part in the force of any town hunger, because schools not only

making breakfast more accessible. what does that mean? we all know school breakfast has always been available to students, but the question is, is it accessible? the bus arrives 15 minutes before the bell starts. now does that mean that the kid can get to the cafeteria, get the breakfast, eat it and get to class on it time? or furthermore, if you think about structure of school schedules today, they're usually five lunch periods for all the students to go through a lunch for every student in the school to go to the breakfast line. so what schools are doing and what no kid hungry helps to fund is expanding the service of breakfast, moving it out of the cafeteria, in t classroom into some kind of grab and go model which looks a lot like a mall kiosk where students walk in and there's an access point in the hallway to pick up their breakfast and go to class. very simple things that cost money side by side, but they

suggestions, quickly, for those of us, people who are watching who might want to do something. >> absolutely learn more, go to no kid hungry.org. there are so many great organizations, the school districts are doing as much as they can. over h put on their service hat. next we talk to some of the people working to put thousands of turkeys on the tables of

welcome back. tonight football fans will descend on fedex field kicking off the food force families

our area, and it takes a big team to carry out this effort every year, joining me is danika wicker. and pastor dexter nutall is here. danika, you will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting at the boys operation, and this will happen starting on monday, when we're collecting food at verizon center all day, you'll be at the boys and girls club. >> yes, so ultimately, it is the hub of the central location where everything will kind of take place. it's the starting place, and what it means for the boys and girls club and just having the, this be the central location,

we're communities where the neighborhood needs us most, where the kids need us most, where the families, where they need us most. so it's so important that we're there, and that is the hub. and people are busy. people are putting together bags for the families. you see them sorting vegetables and potatoes and people are coming in great loads to pick up the bags to carry out and girls club, they've worked with us on this campaign for just about as long as we've been doing it, which is 11 years for food for families. >> yes, yes. and it's a great thing to show to our members. so imagine a 7 or 8-year-old walking in the building after school and seeing all these volunteers giving back, being a part of their community.

outcomes, good character and citizenship. so it's so important for us to show our young people how important it is to give back to your community. there are so many families who are hungry, and who are in need. and the boys and girls club wants to be a part of giving back and making sure that families are together for thanksgiving. >> you're a big part of that. robert, you have been a big part for the past ten years. you are helping with the volunteers, and you just pitch in wherever you're needed. be done, i've been doing this for about 10 years, and enjoy it, every, every time. the working with the volunteers and the staff of the boys club has always been heartwarming. and particularly, when you come out and you see these students that come, and they break out into song and start singing. they're having so much fun, and enjoying what they're doing.

and see the, some of our political leaders come and pitch in and fill the baskets to, for the people in the washington area. >> pastor nutall, your church will get baskets for the needy families in your congregation, but you're also taking part in the volunteer effort to distribute all of this food to we're honored to share in the effort this year. every year around this season we do a thanksgiving community outreach project. and we've done that somewhat independently in the past. but one of the core cornerstones for our church is community engagement and partnership, so this year we are partnering the food for family effort. we have families that call, not only from within the church but from all around the city looking

serving monday through wednesday, we are hand delivering baskets through the community and really excited about making this visual display of our faith. >> all right, it's a lot of hard work. can i just thank you in advance even before we get to monday? thank you all for what you are doing, and we look forward to working with you once again this year. and, a reminder that before the game between washington and detroit tonight, chuck bell and down on the field with storm ranger 4, i'm sorry, the packers, did i say the rangers? the packers. they'll be at fedex field before the game between the skins and packers and be there with storm ranger 4 mobile radar truck to say hello to you. and bring a can of food with you or a boxed item. and see us at the verizon center all day, accepting your food and cash donations.

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