Pueblo strikes down measure requiring resturants to make milk, water default kids’ meal drink
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - Editor's Note: We originally reported that the Pueblo City Council voted to pass this agenda item at Tuesday night's vote. That was incorrect. Instead, they passed a motion against this ordinance, striking it down.
Pueblo City Council made a final vote on whether restaurants in Pueblo will need to make milk and water the standard drink for kids' meals on Monday. The council voted to strike down the ordinance.
The ordinance, which passed on its first reading back in May, would have made it so that soda pop isn't the default drink in a kids' meal.
"That would just mean that the kids' meal would include water, unsweetened milk, or a milk alternative in the bundled meal," said Gabby Singleton, Health Promotion Specialist with Pueblo County Public Health, in a May interview.
Several groups in Pueblo have come out in support of the ordinance. That list includes UC Health, CommonSpirit, Children First Pueblo, Colorado Blue Sky, and the Pueblo Food Project.
Megan Cover with the Pueblo Food Project wrote in a letter to the city council, "The average American child consumes 30 gallons of sugar per year, according to the American Heart Association. We believe that every child has the right to a healthy lifestyle."
How would the ordinance have worked if it had passed?
According to the ordinance, the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment would enforce the rule. Singleton said that enforcement would work on a by-complaint basis. If someone reported that a restaurant didn't have its menu updated to reflect the new changes, then the health department would have come out and inspect.
"I think it'll have a great impact," said Bruce Devereaux, the owner of B & C Tacos in Downtown Pueblo, prior to the council's decision.
Devereaux said he's had milk, water, and orange juice as the main options on the kids' meals since he opened B & C Tacos years ago. He said parents are big fans, and about 75% of the time, the kids' meal sticks with milk, juice, or water for the drink.
This ordinance wasn't universally loved by restaurateurs. Singleton said that many had concerns about the cost of changing their menu or making milk, which isn't shelf-stable, available. She said that having milk on the menu isn't a requirement, making water the default meets the ordinance's guidelines.
As for the cost of changing menus, Singleton said PDPHE would've had grant money available to help restaurants change their menus.
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