District eliminates chocolate milk from cafeterias

Starting this fall, some students at San Francisco Unified School District will no longer have the option of chocolate milk in school lunches, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The California district said it has banned the beverage due to the amount of added sugar and extra calories it contains. The ban will begin this fall at the district’s elementary and middle schools and will roll out to its high schools in the spring.

Not all students readily accept plain milk, however. A 2014 study by Cornell University showed that eliminating the chocolate variety can decrease milk consumption while causing increased waste and fewer student lunch purchases.

Chocolate milk was added back on the menu at Los Angeles Unified School District after six years without it after the district concluded that offering the beverage caused a 23% increase in milk consumption.

SFUSD officials piloted the chocolate milk ban at five schools last year and say they found no decrease in the number of milk cartons kids took at two of the schools, and only a slight decrease in the other three.

Read the full story via sfchronicle.com.