One carton of chocolate milk includes about 40 percent of the recommended daily allowance of sugar in a child’s diet, said Marlene Schwartz, director of the University of Connecticut Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.
“If that’s their one sort of sweet treat, then that’s fine,” she said. “I think the reason flavored milk has gotten attacked is that it’s a waste of that sugar.”
The district will officially ban chocolate milk, starting in elementary and middle schools this fall and expanding to high schools in the spring.
Naijella Raybon, 9, was among the few who expressed something akin to despair at the chocolate milk ban.
“Nooooooo!” she said, pretending to wipe tears from her eyes. “It was my only source of (beverage). It’s tasty, and it’s so good to drink.”
