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Not only are soft drink vending machines ablaze with logos and stocked full of sugary beverages, the cafeteria in many high schools is also filled with brand name fast food and their colorful logos.

Eggo Elementary? Marlboro Middle School? Taco Bell Auditorium? Kraft Kafeteria? leading to Coca Cola College?

Schools have become franchises of major chains, returning a portion of their sales to corporate headquarters.

Some schools are looking at unique and disturbing ways to raise needed revenue. One New Jersey school district gave their new gymnasium the name of a supermarket chain in exchange for $100,000. And a Northern California district is considering selling the naming rights of its six elementary schools.

But the collaboration between private industry and schools need not be an unhealthy one. In February the James Monroe High School held an event titled: "Healthy Eating 101." This was the second annual Taste of Monroe food fair hosted by Whole Foods Market, Feel Good Foods and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Whole Foods Market is the nation's largest natural supermarket, and Feel Good Foods is a company that provides affordable, healthy snacks and beverages for vending machines.

In Muscatine, Iowa, children enjoy free fruit and vegetable snacks throughout the school day, thanks to a federal grant. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human services has allocated $6 million to promote the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among the nation's school children, but it is enough money to cover only 100 schools. Dennis Heiman, principal of the Muscatine High School noted that after the program began, they removed the candy vending machine because there was a 48% drop in sales of candy. This confirms the experience of those working with children that they are receptive to tasty natural food, but they don't eat it since it is not readily available.

There are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables at the Los Angeles Leadership Academy, despite the fact that it is located in an urban section of L.A. Unlike many schools, the Academy has a fully operational kitchen where the staff prepares fresh, healthy food each day. Some of the cooks are parents of students, and have been trained for the job. The food service director purchases much of their food from local farmers, and buys organic whenever possible.

The only "playground" is the building's roof, where they plan to set up gardens. The school's principal, Roger Lowenstein explained that there is very little room for athletics -- just the basketball court on the roof -- but the students and staff get lots of exercise since the five story building has no elevator! The focus of the Leadership Academy is to groom young people to become positive role models for their community. To learn more about the Academy, visit their web site: www.laleadership.org.

In some schools the purpose of

Schools don't need to sell their identity to relieve budget woes; they need to look for solutions in their hallways (now crowded with junk food vending machines) and in their cafeterias.

bringing in natural food is to enhance the health of the children, and elsewhere nourishing food has been added primarily to reduce behavior problems. The good news is that a change in school foods has been found to enhance all these worthwhile goals.

For the school system that is focused on preventing academic failure or substance abuse, the simple answer is that healthy, well-nourished children do not require as many expensive services.