By Anish Sikhinam – Staff Reporter

Recently, Milford Food Services has introduced a new beverage to help make students’ stressful mornings better: hot chocolate milk.

The milk is currently only available during breakfast in the morning with a purchase of a full meal.

“It might be coming to lunch, but it’s not available yet,” high school kitchen manager Ms. Attardo said. “We’re working on it”.

The hot chocolate milk will not be served a la carte as of now, but it is coming soon.

“We’re working on a price,” Attardo said. ”We need more machines in order to continue serving throughout the day.”

Milford Food Services has found that high schoolers aren’t getting enough calcium in their diets. To encourage young people to drink more milk, Milford Food Services and the New England Dairy Council decided to bring the hot chocolate milk to both Jonathan Law and Foran High Schools.

Hot chocolate milk has never been on the school menu before and this is the first time that it has come to the Milford Public Schools.

According to the New England Dairy Council, heating chocolate milk and offering it as hot chocolate to older students is a great way to increase milk consumption and attract new customers to breakfast and lunch programs.”

The beverage will be made of one percent milk, which comes from a local dairy farm in Connecticut.

“They have a certain cold pasteurization process that they use that makes it very creamy,” Attardo said. “We have a wonderful machine called the Chocolady, and we take our gallons of chocolate milk and pour it into the machine, which slowly heats it up by turning it to a nice warm temperature of 130-140 degrees Fahrenheit.”

The beverage, being made of milk and chocolate, contains lactose. The hot chocolate milk is not for people who are lactose intolerant or are allergic to chocolate.

Attardo and the high school kitchen is currently unaware if there are plans to add any other beverages added to the school menu.

“The students will be the first to know if we did,” said Attardo.

Recently, the high school kitchen offered a free trial of hot chocolate milk to students in the morning, and most students seemed positive and liked it.

“I have tried the hot chocolate milk and it was pretty good,” said sophomore Amir Elhelw.

Others think that the beverage needs a little more improving before it can be sold.

“The hot chocolate milk’s good, it just needs some cinnamon,” said junior Alyssa Denomme. “It depends on when you get it.”

Most students, however, like the way the hot chocolate milk gives them energy during a tough morning.

“It got me energized and it was tastefully pleasing,” said sophomore Joey Merly.

Overall, the new hot chocolate milk seeks to provide students extra calcium and nutrition, while giving students a great way to start the morning with more energy and a good mood – a win for both the food service and the students.

(Some information courtesy https://www.newenglanddairycouncil.org)