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Alliance School Beverage Guidelines

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 Dr Pepper Snapple as their school beverage policy.

The Beverage Guidelines Implementation Toolkit offers helpful tips for making the shift to lower calorie and nutritious beverages in your school or district.

View the 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.