NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Chocolate milk will be staying in New York City public schools for now, but Mayor Eric Adams is still looking to get healthier options for students.
As the famously health-conscious mayor took office, he said chocolate milk was something that needed to be addressed.
“We’re having a conversation about should we have chocolate, high-sugar milk in our schools,” the mayor said. “You go into a school building every day and you see the food that feeds our health care crises.”
After rumors of a ban, Adams said chocolate milk will be staying in schools for now.
The mayor wrote a letter last week to New York’s congressional delegation, reassuring them that chocolate milk isn’t going anywhere, according to the New York Post.
That bipartisan group of lawmakers had earlier written a letter to Adams expressing concern about a potential chocolate milk ban, noting the drink supports dairy farmers Upstate and is the only way some kids get necessary nutrients.
“My administration is committed to empowering our students and their parents with the information and resources needed to make healthy choices for themselves and for our city,” Adams wrote in the letter dated Thursday and obtained by the Post. “We are preparing for stakeholder engagement with our school communities to provide feedback on all aspects of our school food program. In the interim, we are not making any determinations about chocolate milk.”
Instead of a ban, Adams is asking for funding for a pilot program providing "healthy and climate friendly plant-based meal and milk options for students." He also wants to see the feds fund a study looking at health outcomes for kids who drink flavored milk versus those who don’t.
Adams has claimed to eat a mostly plant-based diet himself, though he’s said several times he’s not looking to be what he calls a “nanny mayor.”
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