Elementary Schools in Fairfax County, VA Ban Chocolate Milk, Parents Freak Out

So the elementary schools in Fairfax County, Virginia tried to make the cafeteria's menu healthier and got rid of chocolate milk, chicken nuggets, syrup for pancakes, and corn dogs. The administrators there actually have a spine: After their dairy vendor refused to (or couldn't, unclear) supply chocolate milk without high fructose corn syrup, they just took it off the menu.

Flavored milk (both chocolate and strawberry) was a contentious issue for Jamie Oliver while making his show Jamie's Food Revolution in West Virginia — no matter how hard he tried to make the school serve only plain milk, the flavored varieties just kept coming back.

And even though critics are saying the changes at Fairfax County are not enough — things like whole grain Chef Boyardee ravioli are still on the menu, blerg — parents are, of course, freaking out that chocolate milk is the gone. They're even complaining on Facebook!

Molly Field, an area mother of three boys, described the elimination of chocolate milk as "draconian" and "insane." She told the Washington Post, "It's not about politics, really. But let me decide if my kids should be drinking chocolate milk. Not the school... Me and some other moms, we're on Facebook, we're writing letters, we're making calls."

Even on a simple Facebook post by the Fairfax County Public Schools welcoming everyone back for new school year turned into a sounding board for the elimination of chocolate milk, with some in favor and some decidedly against the "horrible" decision.

· Critics say changes to school lunch menus are not enough [Fairfax Times]
· Just can't swallow the anti-chocolate milk argument [WaPo via CotO]