Senate Ag Committee Advances Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) applauded committee passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, legislation that would allow schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to resume offering whole and reduced-fat milk while also expanding the option for nutritious nondairy beverages.

The bill was amended and approved by voice vote.

“Milk is an important part of a balanced diet that delivers critical nutrients students need for growth and development. It makes sense for National School Lunch Program operators to have the authority to offer this healthful beverage to students during the school day. I’m proud to lead the committee in advancing this bipartisan solution to expand milk options and encourage increased dairy consumption while supporting America’s hardworking dairy producers,” Boozman said.

“We mark National Dairy Month today by advancing bipartisan legislation to improve children’s access to milk and other healthy beverages through school lunches,” said Klobuchar. “This legislation is good for our kids and it's good for our dairy producers - a win-win.”

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act:

• Allows schools participating in the NSLP to offer flavored and unflavored organic or nonorganic whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free fluid milk and lactose-free fluid milk as well as nondairy beverages that meet the nutritional standards established by the USDA Secretary.
• Authorizes parents or legal guardians, in addition to licensed physicians, to provide a written statement for their student to receive a nondairy substitute for fluid milk at school.
• Excludes fluid milk from counting towards the requirement that the saturated fat content of a school meal be less than 10 percent of the meal’s total calories.

In April, the committee held a hearing with nutrition science experts and school food service administrators who described the need for school-aged students to increase their calcium intake and the important role of the NSLP in helping achieve this goal.

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act was introduced by Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Peter Welch (D-VT), Dave McCormick (R-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) and now proceeds to the full Senate for consideration.