MATTAPOISETT — The school committee brought in Food Service Director Jill Henesey on Dec. 9 to talk about the school’s drink options after some parents raised concerns about sugary drinks.

School committee member Shannon Finning said that she had families approach her with concerns about the beverages that the school was selling.

Henesey explained that the school sells milk, water, and a sparkling fruit juice.

She explained that she had a number of inquiries because the drink “comes in a can, and a lot of people think it is an energy drink, but it is not.”

Finning asked about the sugar content in those juices.

The director responded that state guidelines are actually quite strict and the school can’t sell anything with added sugar in it. Still, “fruit is going to be high in sugar,” she said and the company’s apple juice has 28 grams of sugar in an 8 ounce apple juice drink.

Finning said she also brought the issue up because “some children I know react more strongly to sugar” than others, and it might impact how a child acts in the classroom after lunch. 

She also asked if there was any way for parents to place blocks on a child purchasing certain items.

Henesey explained that she can’t deny students access to the school meals, but parents can block certain things, like the sugary drinks through the website myschoolbucks.com

Principal Rosemary Bowman said the school could put a tutorial for how to do that on the website.

Henesey also mentioned that she is looking into ab interactive website for broader nutrition questions, but the startup cost for that  is $2,300.

She also tried to clear up confusion about an issue that came up at the beginning of the month about the Mattapoisett lunch menus. She said the first week of December had been included at the bottom of November’s calendar, but if parents need to check the menus for the next week should be online by Tuesday.