Oh my: Philly school dispatches parent patrols to monitor kids' eating

In a neighborhood plagued by drug use and gang violence, one northern Philadelphia school district has recruited parents to help crack down on kids' access to... potato chips and candy.

The parents standing guard outside the Oxford Food Shop are foot soldiers in a national battle over the diets of children that has taken on new fervor.

Tatyana Gray bolted from her house and headed toward her elementary school. But when she reached the corner store where she usually gets her morning snack of chips or a sweet drink, she encountered a protective phalanx of parents with bright-colored safety vests and walkie-talkies.

“Candy!” said one of the parents, McKinley Harris, peering into a small bag one child carried out of the store. “That’s not food.”

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