Dairy Queen Eliminates Soda From Its Kids' Menu

Another day, another fast food restaurant scrambling to rebrand as a more health-conscious eatery. Following in the footsteps of Burger King, McDonald's, and Wendy's, Dairy Queen announced today that by September 1, soft drinks will be removed from the kids' menu.

Although the news is not official yet, a letter from Dairy Queen to concerned parties at the Center for Science in the Public says, "We have been working with our Franchise Advisory Council (FAC) on a proposal to remove soft drinks from the kids' menu board at Dairy Queen locations across the country. Under our recommendation, drinks such as milk and bottled water would solely be listed as menu options at DQ locations. I am pleased to inform you that during our most recent meeting, the FAC voted unanimously to remove soft drinks from our kids' menu."

As at most other fast food restaurants, a customer can still order a kid's meal and a soda, but the soda will not be a default option. 

"Dairy Queen deserves credit for being responsive to the concerns of parents, who increasingly want to be able to order off the kids' menu without having to say 'no' to soda," Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at CSPI, said in a statement.