Holstein milks cows at a dairy in Idaho on July 20, 2012. (Photo by Kirsten Strough/U.S. Department of Agriculture.)
WASHINGTON – School cafeterias are one step closer to reintroducing whole milk after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure Monday that would restore milk as a staple in school lunches.
The bill was unanimously passed by the Senate in November and is now on President Donald Trump’s desk.
The bipartisan effort — which the House passed by voice vote — came after whole milk was banned from school lunch programs for more than a decade to curb childhood obesity.
Under the bill, schools participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program would be permitted to offer “flavored and unflavored organic or non-organic whole milk, low-fat, low-fat, and nonfat liquid milk, and lactose-free liquid milk,” as well as “dairy-free beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to liquid milk and meet nutritional standards established by the Secretary.”
The bill would also exempt milk fat from being classified as saturated fat as it applies to the “permissible average saturated fat content of a meal” in schools.
The measure allows parents and guardians, in addition to physicians, to provide a written declaration for their student to receive a non-dairy milk substitute.
Republican Senators Roger Marshall of Kansas and Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Democratic Senators Peter Welch of Vermont and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. introduced the measure in the Senate in January.
Republican Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania and Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier of Washington State brought them with them relevant legislation in the house.
“An essential building block”
During floor debate Monday, Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said the purpose of the bill is to “restore students’ access to a variety of dairy options and ensure students have the nutrients they need to learn and grow.”
Thompson said, “Milk is an essential building block of a balanced and balanced diet, providing 13 essential nutrients and numerous health benefits,” but said that “unprecedented and outdated federal regulations have unfortunately placed restrictions on the types of milk students have access to in school meals.”
Thompson pointed out that the bill “does not require a student to drink or a school to serve whole milk” and instead “simply gives schools the flexibility to serve a wider variety of milk in the school cafeteria.”
But Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, expressed opposition, saying that while the bill “makes some improvements to the whole milk debate by providing better options for students looking for dairy-free alternatives,” he remains “disappointed that the bill overall would make school meals less healthy.”
The Virginia Democrat said the bill “violates the dairy industry’s stated commitment to ensuring students have access to the healthiest dairy products,” consistent with the USDA and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Praise the dairy industry
The five milk producing states in 2023 were California, Wisconsin, Idaho, Texas and New York. accordingly U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service.
Michael Dykes, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, celebrated the bill’s passage in the House of Representatives, calling it a “decisive victory for children’s health and for the dairy community, which has fought for more than a decade to bring whole and 2% milk back to our nation’s students.”
Dykes called on Trump to sign the bill so that the USDA can “work with state governments and school districts across the country to make this law a reality.”
