Milk carton on a tray. Text reads: Should Schools Serve Flavored Milk?

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Should Schools Serve Flavored Milk?

January 17, 2022

Courtesy of family

Esteban Perez helped bring strawberry milk back to his school cafeteria.

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

“We only had chocolate milk and white milk, and I started getting bored,” Esteban explains.

He wanted another option: strawberry milk. Esteban’s school had stopped offering strawberry milk in the cafeteria, and he started a petition to bring it back. Esteban got other students to sign the petition. They presented it to their principal, who agreed. Now strawberry milk is served not only at Anderson Elementary but also at 17 other schools in the district.

About 80 percent of school districts in the U.S. serve flavored milk, according to the School Nutrition Association. Others offer only plain milk or water. Many people argue that chocolate and strawberry milk aren’t healthy choices for kids.

But others point out that flavored milk contains many of the nutrients kids need. And if students like only flavored milk, they say, that’s better than no milk at all.

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

Flavored milk has the same health benefits as plain milk.

Flavored milk contains calcium, vitamin D, and potassium. These nutrients help build strong bones, boost the immune system, and more.

Some people worry that kids won’t get enough of these nutrients if they don’t drink milk. A study by the Journal of Dairy Science found that the amount of milk kids drink has been decreasing for years. One reason is that a lot of kids don’t like the taste of plain milk. To address that problem, many schools offer chocolate and strawberry milk to students.

Getting rid of flavored milk can add to another problem: food waste. Public schools in Los Angeles, California, stopped offering flavored milk in 2011. A study in 2016 found that the district’s schools created 600 tons of food waste each week, and much of it was plain milk. The district brought back flavored milk after a test program in some schools found that it cut waste by 75 percent.

Sarah Messley is the principal at Anderson Elementary. She’s also noticed a difference.

“We rarely have any strawberry milk or chocolate milk left over,” says Messley. “A lot less milk gets thrown away on days when strawberry milk is available.”

On average, more than 37 cartons of milk per student are wasted at elementary schools each year.

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Many schools don’t consider flavored milk a healthy option for kids.

Flavored milk has nearly twice as much sugar as plain milk—and much of it is added sugar. An 8-ounce carton of chocolate milk contains 4 teaspoons of added sugar. The American Heart Association recommends that kids have less than 6 teaspoons of added sugar in an entire day. Eating too much sugar can lead to heart disease and other health problems.

Also, many varieties of flavored milk contain unhealthy chemicals like artificial colors and flavors. Some experts say it’s OK to drink flavored milk once in a while. But they point out that having too much of it could lead kids to crave even more sweet treats.

“The more sugar you give your body, the more sugar your body is going to ask for,” says nutritionist Sandra J. Arévalo.

She says kids who don’t like plain milk should drink water and can get nutrients from fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods.