If you asked Ankeny students what chocolate milk meant to them, most would reportedly say nostalgia. One of the best parts of an elementary school student’s day is tearing open that cardboard carton to a sweet and chocolaty treat.

On Aug. 25, 2025, students arrived at school to find their mid day treat reduced to being served only on Mondays and Fridays.

“The chocolate milk situation is a tragedy,” senior Brett Winfrey said.

Students voiced complaints immediately to AHS head principal Dr. Daniel (DJ) Johnson, but quickly discovered that this policy went far beyond the ACSD.

In 2023, the Biden administration proposed a new benchmark for the consumption of sugar in schools, following the Dietary Guideline for Americans (DGA) recommendation that added sugars only take up 10 percent of calories in a meal. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) chose a flavored milk ban, hoping it would drastically reduce how much sugar students were consuming in schools.

“I had a cinnamon roll in my school lunch today, I don’t think chocolate milk is the problem,” stated senior Lilian Monthei.

Data taken from the 2014-15 school year recorded in the School Nutrition and Meal Cost Study (SNMCS) showed a significant increase in empty calories and refined grains being consumed by students when compared to the 2009-10 school year.

That increase seems extreme when compared to the quality and quantity of dairy in meals only increasing by 0.1 percent during the same study period.

“Too much of [school lunch] involves just simply heating foods or frozen foods,” social studies and economics teacher Ben McQuade said. “Very little is made from scratch anymore.”

The same SNMCS study was used to aid the DGA going forward, establishing the benchmark that we are facing today with the flavored milk reduction.

“[Chocolate milk] got me to drink milk,” senior Avery Haubrich said. “Now I pass because I don’t like white milk. I guess I’ll have to wait until Mondays and Fridays.”

It is suggested that children ages five through 18 should drink at least a cup of milk per day according to Healthy Eating Research, a national program that researches health policy.

The classic milk cartons served in the ACSD account for the base amount of milk students should drink for the day.

“I hate white milk, but I only really pick up milk at school,” junior Claire Chan said.

A study done in California from 2016 to 2018 by the US Center for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) found that after flavored milk was taken out of schools there was a 14 percent decrease in students choosing milk to go with their school lunches.

While the study recorded less students drinking milk, it concluded that there was still a benefit nutritionally for students when they avoided flavored milk and its added sugars in their diets.

Similarly, in response to the USDA regulations on added sugars, Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), a health-based non profit, issued a letter of support, hoping this would mean long-term changes for the health of children across the country.

The letter states that TFAH supports limits on added sugars in school lunches because excessive sugar consumption in children is directly linked to serious health problems such as heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and dental issues.

The TFAH also said its support is a direct response to the current health of children nationwide.

The letter goes on to explain that about 60 percent of children consume too much added sugar, and school meal programs are a major contributor to the problem.

Despite the health risks, the AHS population continues to question the decisions being made to decrease sugar consumption.

“It’s a huge staple,” junior Violet Freeman said.

For now, all they can do is wait until those special Mondays and Fridays when not only does their sugar and calcium consumption rise, but also their spirits.

“It’s counterintuitive to simply look at sugar intake and think that that is the way to make our students healthier, our population healthier,” McQuade said. “Look at the options instead of taking away something that is a staple in the American diet. If it’s a good source of calcium and a good source of fat, why not be able to have it?”

This story was originally published on The Talon on September 2, 2025.