Fourth-Grader Organizes Protest After Chocolate Milk Removed From Lunch Menu

A 9-year-old was a revolutionist among his classmates after organizing a march when his school removed chocolate milk from the lunch menu.

Jordan Reed, a fourth-grader at Sierra Vista K-8 School in Vacaville, California, decided it was time to take action against the school district and their 2020 decision to remove the flavored dairy drink. Due to its high sugar content, the district pulled the milk, leaving Reed and his class forced to strike back. Last Friday, 26 students led by the zealous youngster staged a protest where they walked the school grounds, holding signs and demanding that chocolate milk return to lunchrooms immediately.

“We used to have it, but then they just took it away,” Reed explained.

The well-organized rally caught the attention of district chef and culinary manager Richie Wilim, who met with students to discuss their concerns. Jordan stated his case by explaining that failing to provide chocolate milk made students reject the thought of milk altogether. This led to decreased milk consumption and increased waste, Jordan argued. Ultimately, the school board agreed to offer the sweetened milk once a week.

Jordan’s class had the support of their teacher, Emily Doss, who sparked the idea when she gave them an assignment about a fourth-grader who protested the banning of strawberry milk in a Missouri school district. Once seeing how interested her class had become in staging a similar march, she helped them create signs as well as a strong argument for why the drink needed to make a comeback. In the end, it worked.

“I felt good about it. I brought back something that everybody wanted,” Jordan told The Washington Post.