Free Republic

Jennie Cook of Food for Lunch, a coalition advocating nutritious school food. She has been pushing the district to eliminate flavored milk for the past year. "This is a social justice issue."

The Board of Education has agreed to move forward on a plan to eliminate sugary beverages and make Florida the first state in the nation to ban chocolate milk in public schools. Board member John Padget, a former schools superintendent from South Florida, has been pressing his colleagues for a year to cut out most beverages besides water, pure juice and white, low-fat milk to help fight childhood obesity. High schools would be allowed to sell some types of diet sodas and some other low-calorie, low-sugar drinks. Although board members tabled the issue last spring — most said they preferred...

With schools under increasing pressure to offer healthier food, the staple on children's cafeteria trays has come under attack over the very ingredient that made it so popular — sugar. Some school districts have gone as far as prohibiting flavored milk, and Florida considered a statewide ban in schools. Other districts have sought a middle ground by replacing flavored milks containing high-fructose corn syrup with versions containing sugar, which some see as a more natural sweetener. Los Angeles Unified, the nation's second-largest school district, is the latest district to tackle the issue. Superintendent John Deasy recently announced he would push...