Helping schools provide healthy settings for their students is a top priority for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. These School Beverage Guidelines were developed to serve as the beverage criteria for the Healthy Schools Program. They will accelerate the shift to lower-calorie and nutritious beverages that children consume during the regular and extended school day. These Guidelines have been adopted by the American Beverage Association, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes as their school beverage policy.
Click here for the Beverage Guidelines Implementation Toolkit which offers helpful tips for making the shift to lower calorie and nutritious beverages in your school or district.
Click here for lists of beverages that meet the Alliance School Beverage Guidelines
Beverages
Elementary School
- Water
- Up to 8 ounce servings of milk and 100% juice
- Fat-free or low fat regular and flavored milk with up to 150 calories / 8 ounces*
- 100% juice with no added sweeteners, up to 120 calories / 8 ounces, and with at least 10% of the recommended daily value for three or more vitamins and minerals
Middle School
- Water
- Up to 10 ounce servings of milk and 100% juice
- Fat-free or low fat regular or flavored milk with up to 150 calories / 8 ounces*
- 100% juice with no added sweeteners, up to 120 calories / 8 ounces, and with at least 10% of the recommended daily value for three or more vitamins and minerals
- As a practical matter, if middle school and high school students have shared access to areas on a common campus or in common buildings, then the school community has the option to adopt the high school standard.
High School
- Water
- No or low calorie beverages with up to 10 calories / 8 ounces
- Up to 12 ounce servings of milk, 100% juice, and certain other drinks
- Fat-free or low fat regular and flavored milk with up to 150 calories / 8 ounces*
- 100% juice with no added sweeteners, up to 120 calories / 8 ounces, and with at least 10% of the recommended daily value for three or more vitamins and minerals
- Other drinks with no more than 66 calories / 8 ounces
- At least 50% of non-milk beverages must be water and no- or low-calorie options
The Guidelines apply to all beverages (outside of the school meal) sold to students on school grounds during the regular and extended school day. The extended school day includes before and after school activities like clubs, yearbook, band, student government, drama and childcare/latchkey programs.
These School Beverage Guidelines do not apply to school-related events (such as interscholastic sporting events, school plays, and band concerts) where parents and other adults constitute a significant portion of the audience or are selling beverages as boosters.
*Milk includes nutritionally equivalent milk alternatives per USDA. In recognition of the currently limited availability of flavored milk with less than 150 calories / 8 oz and the importance of milk’s natural nutrients in children’s diet’s, flavored milk with up to 180 calories / 8 oz will be allowed under these guidelines until August 31, 2008 so long as schools attempt to buy the lowest calorie flavored milk available to them. Because of unique CA state milk regulations, the calorie limit for fat-free and low fat flavored milk in CA schools is 180 calories / 8 oz with a transition period until August 31, 2008 that allows 210 calories / 8 oz.
Please click here to download the press release
Please click here to download the original Memo Of Understanding
Please click here to download the Amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding
Please click here to download the Dairy Associations Memo of Understanding
Please click here to download the Dairy Companies Memo of Understanding
Please click here to download the Statement from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Beverage Guidelines Checklist (PDF): Elementary, Middle, and High School