[txrefugee]

And serving that water with one piece of bread would save even more money and would definitely cause them to lose weight.

[McGavin999]

It used to be that you were served a glass of water as soon as you were seated. This may have merit

[Billthedrill]

All right then, a non-sugar drink that has plenty of nutrition and is carbonated and that the kiddies will love. Colonial American kids sure did. Beer, of course.

Nobody listens to me.

[grania]

There might be something to this. In the school situation, it's tough to get enough water. In some schools kids can bring bottled water, some not. In most schools, water from a fountain is a bad idea (spread of disease). Besides that, bathroom use is seriously restricted....a real incentive to not have enough liquid.

It was a real issue when I was teaching. Even if I guzzled enough water between classes to stay hydrated, there weren't enough breaks in the day for the rest room.

[Hieronymus]

In my day it was water or milk. I clicked on the article expecting to see that milk was hugely fattening.

[PraiseTheLord]

SKIM MILK <======== heard of it ???????

[ do they even still sell it ]

[buffyt]

I was skinny kid. Skinny teen. Skinny young adult. We had whole milk with meals. I was way too skinny till age 55. Beanpole.

[Bob434]

Dang- no more liquor?

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

What drink company lobbied for this bullsh*t?

[cba123]

You know, I might catch some grief for saying this, but for just this once, I think there (may) be something to this.

[Fungi]

Let the parents feed the children, not the school. So the school is the de facto parent, taking responsibility for feeding the child? Next up--"parents" will only procreate, the state becomes everything else to the digit known by its government number. Abolish government schools indoctrination centers.

[cherry]

try this on the precious elderly....there would be riots in the streets....

try taking seat belts away from senior citizen buses....wait for the uproar...

but the kids....they can get by without bus seatbelts and they damn well can get along without milk....

how many kids ONLY get to drink milk at school...or perhaps their finicky and milk is their only protein...

[GnuThere]

Drinking orange juice at breakfast is at least equally unhealthy - there’s a strong citrus/sugar lobby who made it seem normal.

[Redwood71]

The school systems already have a difficult time getting the kids to eat the provided meals. So they provide only water? That makes sense. Make the meals less appealing and score points with the consumers.

And you better shut down the soda machine and don’t be surprised when the kids bring in their own thermos from home. You can lead a horse to water,..........

rwood

[Fhios]

And water is not available to them? I remember in my lunchroom there were 4 water fountains. Just put a dixie cup holder and keep it stocked, they’ll drink water.

Other than that, I envision a behemoth union getting lucrative contracts for providing bottled water, then charging the school district 300% markup.

[Arthur McGowan]

Abolish school lunch. People should be eating one meal a day.

[blackdog]

I think they should just make this simpler. Weight and height check every kid in the entrance to the lunch line. If the kid is more than 21% body fat, refuse to give him or her lunch. OK, water and celery sticks.

If the kid's parents don't like that, they can sign on to a waiver providing a home inspection takes place. You know, to make sure the environment at home is a safe one. Smoke detectors, no guns, nutritious foods, no alcohol, no drugs, and no references to Christ, crosses, or bibles.

If we have a childhood obesity epidemic, why are we feeding them for free?

[trebb]

And serving carrot and celery sticks instead of food would “help” too....

[Deplorable American1776]

Growing up, I either took my lunch or (since my school was a neighborhood school) I went home to eat. I even had lunch with my friend (going to his house), but we got in trouble (we decided to take his sister's Easy Bake Over and mix chicken noodle soup with cake mix and cooked it in the easy bake...I was banned for a month from his house, he couldn't go home for lunch. (His mom was the only 'working mom' I knew growing up. They owned a pet store.) and he had to work 3 months at their pet shop.

Do kids take lunch to school any more?

[Katya]

the dairy industrial complex will be upset... but I agree, there’s no reason for kids to ever drink milk. Through most of history we consumed milk as a cultured product, butter or a cooking ingredient.

In fact, it wasn’t a drink outside of giving it to babies who couldn’t or wouldn’t nurse until the late 19th century, well after pasteurization had been invented. It was then pushed by governments in the 20th century.

1922 saw the passing of the Casper Volstead act, which gave agricultural producers the ability to create associations and market their products. Got Milk?