New York schools want to ban chocolate milk

Sacred cow.

The city's education ministry wants to ban chocolate milk in public schools, the Post Office has learned.

Citing health problems, including sugar content, Chancellor of the Schools, Richard Carranza, and his subordinates argue for a policy exclusively focused on white milk, said DOE sources.

"We think these children are already consuming too much sugar, why are they drinking it in their milk?", Said a DOE source, adding that the highest-ranking "discuss what to do and how to do it. way to do it. "

Other school districts, from San Francisco to Washington, banned flavored milk and concerns were expressed about dairy products in New York, where students' milk options were limited to low-fat and fat-free in 2006 .

But the city has resisted the idea of ​​putting the kibosh on chocolate – at least until now.

The moo-ve already divides parents and children.

"It would be terrible to remove people's chocolate milk," said Caterina Ditommasa, 10, at PS 58, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

Her mother, Joanna, argued that removing the chocolate milk would not solve the school food problems.

"Schools serve other sweet drinks that are not better – juices and soft drinks," she said.

"The real problem is that lunches in New York are unhealthy in general, all prepackaged and full of preservatives."

Caterina's father, Luke, was more open to a ban on milk chocolate.

"Do not be a health nazi," he said, "but that's not the worst idea."

Dairy farmers in the north of the state got wind of something that was not going in the city and have a cow about it.

According to them, the consumption of chocolate milk will reduce the milk consumption of children, which would affect their health, not to mention the results of farmers.

A group of dairy farmers asked the help of local congressmen, who sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio last week.

"More than two-thirds of school milk is flavored, which is an essential way for children to get the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development," the letter says.

Representative Anthony Brindisi (D-Utica), a member of the political class, told The Post: "It's a very large school system. This is a time when dairy farmers are already struggling and are facing a lot of uncertainty. "

The DOE pointed out that a final decision has not yet been made.

"Our priority is the health and well-being of our students, and every day we offer a variety of healthy, delicious and free meal options that exceed USDA standards," the release said. .

"We look forward to discussing our menu with these congressmen."

The San Francisco Unified School District, previously led by Carranza, banned flavored milk shortly after its departure in 2016.

While Los Angeles eliminated chocolate milk in 2011, he brought it back in 2017 after finding that children were totally rejecting milk.

According to the city's health department, 8 ounces of skim milk from local public schools contain 120 calories and 20 grams of sugar, of which 8 grams are added.

The same amount of skim milk contains 90 calories and 12 grams of sugar, without addition.

Additional reports by Daniel Cassady and Kate Sheehy