Davis Makes Restaurants Offer Milk, Water as 1st Choice in Kids’ Meals

On Tuesday night, the City Council of Davis unanimously passed an ordinance requiring every “restaurant that sells a children’s meal that includes a beverage” to offer milk or water to children as their first choice in children’s meals, according to Bay Area public radio station KQED.

In order for children to have soda, parents must specifically request it. The Sacramento Bee reported that the ordinance will be implemented on September 1. Julie Gallelo, executive director of First 5 Yolo, a non-profit organization behind the ordinance, told the Bee that the intervening period will give restaurants enough time adjust to the new law.

The Bee noted that 18 restaurants will be affected, including Taco Bell, Carl’s Jr. and Round Table Pizza franchises as well as local bistros and pubs.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which pointed out that major chains have already removed soda from kids’ menus, gushed its approval, stating: “Parents in Davis, California, should be pleased and proud that the city has passed an ordinance making milk or water, and not soda, the default beverages for meals intended for young children….One day seeing soda on a kids’ menu will be like seeing an ashtray in a doctor’s office.”