Arizona Schools Adapt to Healthy Schools Act, Banning Certain Additives

Arizona Schools Adjust to New Healthy Eating Regulations

With the new school year underway, students in Arizona may notice a shift in their cafeteria and vending machine selections. This change comes as a result of the Arizona Healthy Schools Act, which prohibits public schools involved in federal meal programs from offering foods with 11 specified chemical additives and synthetic dyes during school hours, extending from midnight before to 30 minutes after the school day.

Districts across the state began preparing for this transition soon after the law’s passage in 2025. Julie Peterson, the Director of Food and Nutrition for Tempe Union High School District, explained that her team started evaluating their menu ingredients last year and collaborated with vendors to identify healthier options.

“A big one was Gatorade,” said Peterson. “A lot of the Gatorades that we served previously had some of the dyes in them and Gatorade was able to reformulate those and take those dyes out and use a coloring that’s based on a juice.”

Although some students have noticed less vibrant drink colors, the adjustment largely went smoothly. The new rules also affect treats for classroom parties and school fundraisers, but not the contents of a student’s lunch brought from home.

“So if they want to put something in there like a cupcake that has the red dye or the blue dye in it, that is fine as long as that student is eating that and not sharing it with other students,” Peterson stated.

Peterson also noted a rise in food costs, saying, “I’m sure you’ve gone to the grocery store and seen the impacts there. That does also impact schools and healthier choices usually do cost more.”

The Phoenix Union High School District also began preparing last year. Spokesperson Richard Franco communicated via email, “We are running our food services smoothly and with the addition of new menu items last year, we are hopeful that our students will continue to enjoy the selections offered on their campuses. We host regular tastings with our students to introduce possible new menu items and get feedback from them on what they like and do not like to ensure our food selection mirrors their preferred tastes.”

The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) faced fewer challenges, as it had previously adopted a ‘clean label initiative.’

“So in terms of foods being served on our menus that contain these ingredients, there was no impact because we’ve already had this in place,” stated Lindsay Aguilar, TUSD’s director of food services.

As TUSD includes elementary students, they anticipate more questions from parents about permissible celebratory treats. Aguilar mentioned a proactive approach, “We do have snacks and treats and beverages that are available through our catering services at TUSD food services that are compliant. So there’s products that are developed for K-12 for meal programs that don’t contain these ingredients and then also meet the nutrition standards for foods available to students during the school day.”