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Decatur schools looking to remove chocolate milk, other foods from menu

DECATUR, Ga. — Decatur City Schools wants to make school lunches healthier, and one of the items on the list is chocolate milk.

Dr. Kiawana Kennedy is the Curriculum Director for district of 3,600 students.

She chuckled when Channel 2's Dave Huddleston asked her about the chocolate milk ban.

"No, it is not a done deal, and it is one of several items that we considered, but it is one that seemed to get a lot of attention. In the end we decided to put in on the list and let the superintendent and the board decides," Kennedy said.

Kennedy said a 13-member committee that consists of staff, eight parents and one student came up with a list of 10 items that include chocolate milk, muffins, pancakes, chips, chicken nuggets, shrimp poppers, dried potatoes or Tater Tots, high sugar desserts, peanut butter and highly processed cheese.

"All of the items on the list are either highly processed foods, fried with little nutritional value, or have a high sugar content," Kennedy said.

Some members of the Decatur community think eliminating some of the items is a good idea, but said chocolate milk was a strange one.

"I have a problem with that, I'm a chocolate milk drinker and for some children, this may be the only milk they get all day," Decatur resident Cindy Cross said.

Kennedy said the Top 10 list is not an official list of items.

The will talk more about the menu changes at Tuesday night's school board meeting.

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