For years, students have had fewer milk choices in schools, with whole milk missing from cafeteria trays due to federal restrictions. Supporters of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act say bringing it back could help improve childhood nutrition, increase milk consumption and reduce food waste.
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry held a pivotal hearing to review the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, marking the first formal Senate action on the bill. The hearing provided a platform for lawmakers and industry representatives to highlight the importance of whole milk in student nutrition, discuss its role in increasing milk consumption and address concerns about food waste in school meal programs. This event was a crucial step toward advancing the bill, which passed the House overwhelmingly in 2023 and is poised to do so again this year.
Dairy Industry Celebrates Bipartisan Support
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) recently made an announcement celebrating the strong bipartisan support for the legislation as momentum builds in Congress.
“We know that Americans are underconsuming dairy products, and as we heard today, students have said they want the milk they are familiar with and that they find satisfying. For many students, that’s whole milk,” said NMPF President and CEO Gregg Doud.
Senator Makes Case for Whole Milk
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who helped introduce the Senate bill, reflected on the significance of whole milk in his own upbringing.
“I think about whole milk growing up, where my grandparents delivered milk to us two or three times a week, and it was just part of our diet … and how important whole milk is,” he said.
Marshall argued for the reintroduction of whole and reduced-fat milk into the National School Lunch Program back in January, emphasizing the impact of its absence on children’s health.
“Now, 13 years after its removal, nearly 75% of children do not receive their recommended daily dairy intake,” Marshall said. Access to milk in schools will prevent diet-related diseases and encourage nutrient-rich diets for future generations, he said.
On Tuesday during the hearing, Marshall underscored the personal importance of the bill.
“We all came to Congress with a reason, and I sat down on my first day and had a list of 10 things I wanted to do when I got here. Save the world, save Medicare, save Medicaid, balance the budget and get whole milk back in school. So, this is a great day for us to have a hearing on this, and I do appreciate the members of the Ag Committee coming here and having this discussion.”
He further tied the effort to broader nutritional goals. “The Make America Healthy Again movement, it’s about whole foods. And I think we could characterize whole milk as part of that MAHA movement, as well.”
Expert Testimony Highlights Nutritional Benefits
Keith T. Ayoob, associate professor emeritus of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, provided further insight into the nutritional impact of milk in school meals. He said nearly 30 million children and adolescents participate in federal school meal programs daily, where milk serves as the No. 1 source of protein, vitamin D, calcium and potassium for children ages 2-18.
“A plethora of scientific literature demonstrates that consumption of cow’s milk provides children with better bone health, a lower risk for Type 2 diabetes and a lower risk for cardiovascular disease,” Ayoob said. “Specifically, milk provides 22% of the calcium, 40% of the vitamin D and 10% of the potassium in the American diet.”
Ayoob also addressed concerns about childhood obesity, noting that the removal of whole and reduced-fat milk has not resulted in weight loss among children.
“Since the removal of whole milk and reduced-fat milk in schools, obesity prevalence has increased. Clearly, milk was not the issue here. It wasn’t the cause and it’s not the cure,” he said. “Taking this a step further, if children are not drinking milk at school because the school doesn’t have the type of milk they prefer, one would postulate that they would lose weight. There’s no evidence this is happening or that it has happened for this reason.”
Giving Students the Choices They Want
Ayoob also emphasized the importance of offering milk varieties students will actually drink.
“No matter what type of milk is offered in school, none of it is nutritious unless students drink it — and they don’t drink it often enough,” he said. “The reason the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee considers calcium, potassium and vitamin D as ‘nutrients of concern’ is because the vast majority of Americans do not consume the recommended amounts of these nutrients. A glass of dairy milk has three of these four nutrients of concern. Missing that glass of milk at lunch is not likely to be made up during the rest of the day.”
Restoring whole and reduced-fat milk options in schools is a simple yet effective way to improve children’s diets, Ayoob said.
“Returning whole (3.25%) and reduced-fat (2%) milk to school meals and child nutrition by enacting the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, along with low-fat (1%) and nonfat milk, including lactose-free versions, which are already in these programs, provides more milk options for children to choose from, which will make it easier for them to get all of the nutrients they need in their diets,” he said.
A Step Closer to Restoring Whole Milk in Schools
With momentum growing in both chambers of Congress, dairy industry advocates are hopeful that the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act will clear its final legislative hurdles, restoring a nutrient-rich beverage option to school cafeterias across the country.
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