A couple of weeks ago, my son bought chocolate milk at school for the first time. He had brought a packed lunch from home, but being a big fan of chocolate milk (and having run out of juice boxes in flavors he liked), he wanted to try the school milk options. After he got home, I asked how he liked the milk and his first experience buying something from the school cafeteria. The chocolate milk got rave reviews, but one thing surprised me—he said that he was the only kid that bought just milk. Everyone else either bought an entire meal, or had brought a drink with their lunch. So, if they’re not choosing school milk, what are kids drinking?
He’s in elementary school, and the options for competitive beverages in the school itself are relatively limited (although that’s not the case for all elementary schools in the U.S.). Once kids get to middle or high school, there are often many more options available to them, both in school and brought in from somewhere off-campus.
The current U.S. Department of Agriculture rules for competitive foods and beverages states that “foods of minimal nutritional value,” including soda, may not be offered in competition with school meals. This still allows for many types of fruit drinks, sports drinks and flavored water during school meals and does not include any limits after school meals are over. There are a number of independent groups that have made recommendations, including an
Institute of Medicine committee and the
Alliance for a Healthier Generation, but these are not mandatory requirements.
Some recent research shows what beverages are available to kids in school, and unfortunately, many of the options are a lot less nutritious than milk. The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded two studies that showed the beverage environment of elementary schools and middle and high schools. While these studies do show that the available beverages have become healthier, it can still be a difficult environment for school milk to compete.
Let's look at the details:
Middle/High School Beverages, 2010-2011 school year
- 63 percent of middle school students and 88 percent of high school students could buy a sugar-sweetened beverage (fruit drinks, sports drinks, soda) at school.
- 13% percent of middle schoolers and 25 percent of high school students could by soda at school.
- 36 percent of middle school students and 48 percent of high school students could buy reduced-fat and whole milk at school, which is a decline from previous years.
- The number of middle and high school students with access to lower-fat milk stayed stable.
Elementary School Beverages, 2010-2011 school year
- 33 percent of students had access to “unhealthy beverages” defined as anything other than water, 100 percent juice and 1 percent or skim milk
- 12 percent of students could purchase sugar-sweetened beverages
We know changes are coming to beverages in schools – USDA is working on nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold as competitive options in schools. And I’m looking forward to learning more about research on what kids are drinking overall from the
Dairy Research Institute presentation at the
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo in a couple of weeks.
What other beverages are available in the schools you sell to? What can we do to help milk compete against these other options?
