Hold the donuts. Pass the low-fat granola bar.

Skip the bacon. Snack on tofu.

These are the new rules under the Utah Department of Health's recently adopted healthy food policy. Call it a belt-tightening measure, but not the financial kind.

"Ultimately, the goal of all of this is to reduce the epidemic of obesity and overweight," said Heather Borski, director of the health department's Bureau of Health Promotion.

The policy is mandatory, though there are no punitive measures if the soda is full calorie. Instead, peer pressure will be the heavy.

It applies to the meals, snacks and drinks bought with state or federal funds. Pot lucks can continue to be sugar — and fat-fests.

Financial belt-tightening has trimmed the number of meetings with meals. But they do happen: Last fiscal year, the health department spend $51,700 on food — about $11,000 in state money and the rest in federal funds.

The healthy food policy checklist requires:

• Fruits and vegetables at every meal.

• Foods must be low in saturated and trans fat; and drinks and food are low in sodium and added sugars.

• Water is available.

• Dairy products are low in fat or fat free.

• Whole grain breads, cereal, pastas and crackers are offered instead of refined grains.

Kari Schmidt got a taste of the new policy Tuesday at a Tobacco Prevention and Control Program training. Looking over the grilled chicken and vegetable salad and fresh fruit and bread with honey butter for dessert, the Utah County Health Department employee wasn't missing the traditional refined sugar treat.

"It looks wonderful. Very colorful, very healthy looking," she said

Since most people eat what is in front of them, it's nice not to be tempted, she added. "If there's healthier options, I'll definitely take it."

Borski acknowledges providing whole-grain pasta instead of the white-flour variety and steamed vegetables instead of butter-soaked greens won't , on its own, cut down Utah's 58 percent rate of overweight and obese adults.

But she said the health department is trying to set an example: That one can be satisfied with smaller portion sizes, that food isn't necessary at every meeting, and fruit is an acceptable dessert.

It was the rule on sweets that proved the most sticky. Borski's bureau — which adopted an internal healthy foods policy about five years ago — initially tried to ban treats altogether.

She had to relent: "We're conditioned to like sugar at the end of the meal," she said.

Now the policy suggests angel food cake with fruit topping, low-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt, or oatmeal cookies in smaller sizes.

The policy's primary rationale, Borski said, is to ensure health workers practice what they preach. "If we're telling people to eat healthy ... we also shouldn't be serving 400-calorie cookies."

The health promotion bureau had urged the full health department to approve a healthy food policy for years, but met resistance.

"The Department of Health is a microcosm of society, and change is really hard," said Teresa Garrett, the department's deputy director. "As an organization it took us time to make that decision."

But she's glad to have it in place now, and she's using it to order food for an upcoming employee appreciation event. She's considering ordering whole wheat pumpkin bread, fruit and water.

Brownies — welcome in the past — won't be invited.

hmay@sltrib.com —

Practicing what they preach

The Utah Department of Health has adopted other policies to promote health:

The campus is tobacco-free, so no smoking is allowed even 25 feet from doorways.

Employees are given 30 minutes, three times a week to exercise.

Wellness walks around the campus are scheduled twice a week.

The contractor that provides vending machine food for several government agencies throughout the state has agreed to label foods as a "Fit Pick," meaning the snack has no more than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat, 35 percent from fat or 35 percent of total weight from sugar.