Restaurant Children’s Meals

Making Water and Milk the Default Options in Restaurant Children’s Meals

Overview
Who decided the default beverage in restaurant children's meals should be one with 16 (or more) teaspoons of sugar? Certainly not parents. We helped 9 cities pass policies changing that practice, then built on their success to make California the first state legislating water or milk as the default choice for kids meals.

Data and Research

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    One soda a day increases a child’s risk of obesity by 55%.

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    Children who drink sodas are twice as likely to have cavities when compared to other kids.

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    Children get 25% of their calories while eating at restaurants.

    • Media Advocacy

    Local media coverage about city policies built momentum for a state law.

    Community Mobilization

    We partnered with community organizations to rally support for local policy change.

    Partnership Building

    We partnered with the YMCAs of California, the American Heart Association, and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California to sponsor state legislation.

    Policymaker Education

    Fact sheets showcased childhood obesity rates and soda consumption levels for each legislative district.

    Policy Changes

    We helped all of these cities enact local policies: Berkeley, Cathedral City, Chula Vista, Daly City, Davis, Hawthorne, Long Beach, Perris, and Stockton.  Building on their successes and together with all of our partners, we were able to gain passage of the nation's first state law requiring healthy-by-default kids’ meal beverages (SB 1192).

    Media Coverage

    Resources

    Learn More

    The full case study is still in progress. Check back soon to explore how we took sugar out of kids meal drinks.