National School Lunch Week and the Chocolate Milk War

This week is National School Lunch Week, and there's one sugary war going on across the country that isn't so sweet. Schools are debating whether or not to eliminate flavored milks from cafeterias. The fight may be raging over pint-sized milk jugs, but the battle is shaping up to be pretty huge.

Right now, about 75 percent of the milk sold in school cafeterias is flavored (and by flavored, I mean it contains a few extra spoonfuls of sweetener). That startling statistic could be on the decline: Already, schools in Boulder, C.O. and Washington, D.C. eliminated flavored milks from their cafeterias. Florida's Palm Beach County schools are currently considering a chocolate milk ban, too.

The schools have public health advocates as their allies. Anti-flavored milk advocates argue that offering kids sugary drinks with their school meals adds even more pounds to the childhood obesity epidemic that's sweeping the nation. They've got a solid point: As Change.org's Carol Scott notes, one cup of Nestle's low-fat, chocolate milk contains 170 calories and 28 grams of sugar, while plain, low-fat milk only has 110 calories and 12 grams of natural sugar. Whopping sugar counts not only make kids fat, they make them hyper — kind of a problem when you're trying to get tykes to sit down and learn their multiplication tables.

Critics of the flavored milk bans (we're looking at you, dairy industry) argue that taking away sweetened milks may prompt kids to drink no milk at all. Despite its added sugars, chocolate milk boasts the same nutritional benefits as plain milk. We wouldn't want a ban on chocolate to bring an unintended drop in kids' calcium, vitamin D, and protein intakes.

So if there's no chocolate milk to be had, would kids embrace or shun low-fat, plain milk? That's the million-dollar question.

As "renegade lunch lady" Chef Ann Cooper notes, hiding nutrients behind spoonfuls of sugar isn't the way to get kids to eat healthy. ""Saying we need to add sugar and flavoring to milk to get kids to drink it is like saying we need to feed kids apple pie if they don't like apples," Cooper told the New York Times.

Plus, evidence is starting to suggest that if kids are given a healthy alternative, they'll go for it. As part of a pilot project, a school in Ohio and another in central New York featured vending machines stocked only with bags of baby carrots. Because there are no packaged chips or cookies to be found, school officials say that students are opting for the carrots as a satisfying snack. Farm-to-school programs — initiatives where cafeterias include fresh, local produce in school lunches — are becoming increasingly popular. These programs wouldn't be earning their place on the menu if most of that produce wound up in the garbage can.

There's no need to hide healthy foods in candy coatings and underneath mounds of salt or sugar. If you provide kids with fresh, nutritious meals, they just might enjoy eating them (gasp!). Tell Florida's Palm Beach County to vote in favor of students' health by ditching chocolate milk in its school cafeterias.

Photo credit: edenpictures via Flickr