Ella Mitchell, Photography Editor
I am an avid coffee drinker who is fond of studying in and around Sewanee’s two coffee shops: Stirling’s and Cup and Gown. Often, I spend my money purchasing a latte with oat milk because I can’t drink the whole milk that comes with the drink free of charge. But, I always have to pay extra because of my lactose intolerance.
Let’s take a look into the alternative milk prices at Stirling’s. A regular latte, that means one with no flavor shots as those cost $1.07 for a full and $0.56 for a half, and contains either whole milk or skim milk and costs $4.28. Oat, almond and coconut milk substitutions cost $1.07 extra. This would make a plain latte with an alternative milk (oat, almond or coconut) $5.35. I would argue that over a dollar is a pretty significant price increase for a non-dairy milk, especially if you frequent Stirling’s numerous times a week.
It is also interesting to note that the online menu linked to Sewanee Dining’s website does not have the additional charges for milk substitutions listed anywhere. I had to go into the GET app and create an order to see a digital version of the alternative milk pricing.
The Sewanee Purple reached out to Julia Stubblebine, manager of Stirlings, to inquire regarding the upcharge for alternative milk. Stubblebine responded with the following statement: “The reason we charge more is because the alternative milks cost anywhere from two to four times more than the cost of milk per ounce depending on the alt. milk. So we have to charge accordingly in our price like we would for anything else on our menu.”
Cup and Gown, Sewanee’s other “on-campus” coffee shop, has their milk prices listed on their online menu linked to the Sewanee Dining website. The online menu states: “Alternate milk substitutes $1.05 upcharge.”
Cup and Gown Manager Angie Hudson did not respond to a request for an interview.
When searching on any grocery store website, Stubblebine’s point is proven true. On Walmart’s website, a half gallon of the Great Value brand whole milk is $2.17 while cartons of similar sizes in oat (the 52 ounce Planet Oat carton in particular) is around $3.98. Almond milk in a half gallon of the Silk brand is $3.37, and a half gallon of coconut milk also in the Silk brand is $4.17.
It appears that an increase in price for milk adjustments for the lactose intolerant is almost unavoidable. Sewanee’s situation is more frustrating, however, because of the fact that we are so isolated from big chains that do not charge extra for alternative milks. Especially with the closest Starbucks and full service Dunkin’ Donuts being approximately a twenty minute drive away.
You might encourage me just to go to one of the chain coffee shops if I want to avoid the extra charge, but that isn’t always a simple option. There is no question that Sewanee is an isolated campus. This is even more frustrating because some college students do not have cars and therefore do not have the ability to travel to a chain coffee shop in order to avoid the alternative milk price increase.
In October 2024, Starbucks released a statement explaining that “the company will no longer charge extra for customizing beverages with a non-dairy milk, making it easier for customers to make their Starbucks beverage their own.” Dunkin’ followed suit in the spring of 2025 and also no longer charges for a substitution in milk as explained in an article entitled “Dunkin’ Will No Longer Charge for Non-Dairy Milks” by Amy Reiter on the Food Network website.
Reiter’s article contains a link, interestingly enough, to an article by Corrado Rizzi on ClassAction.org entitled “Dunkin Facing Lawsuit Over ‘Discriminatory’ Extra Charge for Non-Dairy Alternatives’ has a lawsuit posed to Dunkin’ last updated in the spring of 2024 claiming that “the coffee shop chain’s additional $0.50 to $2.15 charge for consumers who ask to substitute regular milk offerings with soy, oat, coconut, or almond milk amounts to a violation of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and several state anti-discrimination laws given that lactose intolerance and milk allergies are considered disabilities.”
ClassAction.org does not have any clear updates on the results of the lawsuit, but consumer opposition to high milk prices likely had an impact because of Dunkin’s recent decision to stop up-charging for alternative milks.
According to the World Population Review’s “Lactose Intolerance by Country 2025” map, 36% of individuals in the United States are lactose intolerant. This is less than half, but the number is still significant.
Starbucks and Dunkin’ are arguably two of the most popular coffee chains in the states and among college age students, as they target many marketing strategies to younger consumers on social media. These chains are obviously able to drop the extra charge because they are larger corporations. Local coffee shops, like those at Sewanee, do not have the same luxury.
It is possible that the prices of Stirlings’ or Cup and Gown’s drinks could increase slightly to accommodate for the extra cost of milk as a whole, but this is an unviable and unlikely solution.As unsatisfying as it is, there really is no winning answer in this problem.
It seems the only conclusion is that Sewanee students must prepare themselves to spend an extra dollar if cow’s milk gives them a stomach ache unless our on campus coffee shops are willing to make price adjustments elsewhere in order to allow for no up-charge for non-dairy milk.