Milk splashes as it's poured. A cartoon cow with pink flowers on its body.

Shutterstock.com

Should Schools Serve Flavored Milk?

April 25, 2022

Courtesy of family

Esteban Perez was tired of the drink choices at Anderson Elementary School in Anderson, Missouri.

“We only had chocolate milk and white milk,” Esteban explains.

He wanted strawberry milk. But his school had stopped serving it. The fourth-grader wrote a petition asking the school to bring it back.

Other students signed the petition, and they gave it to the principal. The principal agreed! The school now offers strawberry milk again.

While Esteban’s school serves three kinds of milk, other schools serve only plain milk or water. Many nutrition experts say flavored milk is not a healthy choice. Other people argue that even flavored milk contains many nutrients kids need.

Should all schools have chocolate and strawberry milk on the menu?

Supporters of flavored milk point out that all milk is good for kids. It contains nutrients like vitamin D, calcium, and potassium. They help keep kids healthy, build strong bones, and more.

Some people worry kids won’t get these nutrients if they don’t like plain milk. A recent study showed the amount of milk kids drink has been going down. Some argue flavored milk gets more kids to drink milk.

Not offering flavored milk can also create food waste. In 2011, public schools in Los Angeles stopped serving chocolate milk. About 236 gallons of plain milk went to waste every week. In 2016, the schools brought back chocolate milk. The weekly waste was reduced to about 59 gallons.

“A lot less milk gets thrown away on days when strawberry milk is available,” Sarah Messley says. She’s the principal at Anderson Elementary.

Many schools say flavored milk is not a healthy choice. It contains unhealthy chemicals like artificial flavors.

Plus, flavored milk has nearly twice the sugar that plain milk has. An 8-ounce carton of chocolate milk has 4 teaspoons of added sugar.

The American Heart Association says kids shouldn’t have more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar in a day. Eating too much sugar can lead to health problems, such as heart disease.

Some experts say flavored milk is OK now and then. But too much can make kids want more sweet treats.

“The more sugar you give your body, the more sugar your body is going to ask for,” says Sandra J. Arévalo. She’s a nutrition expert.

Experts also say kids who don’t like plain milk should drink water. They can get nutrients from foods like fruits and veggies.