Chocolate milk will stay on school lunch menus, as USDA reverses course

WASHINGTON — Chocolate milk in schools is here to stay.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that it has abandoned a previous proposal to restrict the sale of flavored milk in elementary and middle schools. Instead, the USDA will enforce a limit on added sugars in flavored milk starting in the fall of 2025.

Regulators had proposed banning the drink because of its high sugar content. One carton of flavored milk typically contains anywhere from 6 to 16 grams of added sugar, according to a report from the advocacy organization Center for Science in the Public Interest. The proposal to ban flavored milk was supported by the American Medical Association, which said in comments to the USDA that it “is concerned that increasing the opportunities for students to choose flavored over unflavored milk will only increase the rates of childhood obesity in this country.”

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