Dairy and plant-based dairy groups have welcomed the passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, a bill that brings back whole and reduced fat milk back to US school cafeterias while making it easier for parents to request non-dairy options for their children.
The bill eased through Congress last night and will next be signed into law by the US president.
Described as an “historic, years-long effort”, the legislation was first introduced in June 2023 when it passed the House but stalled in the Senate, having been blocked by the chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Debbie Stabenow over lack of scientific evidence. “[O]ne thing that’s clear, and that is that school meal standards currently based on dietary science should continue to be based on dietary science, not based on which individual food products that we support,” she said during the debate.
In US schools, only skim and 1% fat milk is offered, in line with current dietary guidelines. Whole and reduced-fat (2%) milk has been absent from cafeterias since 2012 over childhood obesity concerns.
The bill was re-introduced in early 2025 amid a significant US policy shift towards natural and less-processed foods driven by the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement led by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy Jr. has also advocated for the return of full-fat dairy in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
In June, the Act was backed by the Senate Agriculture Committee with no objections, prompting its co-author, senator Peter Welch, to say there was a strong chance for the proposed bill to become law.
“This is one of those things where if we get it on the floor and get the cooperation of leadership, we get the votes,” he told NMPF’s Dairy Defined podcast. “And this is one of those areas of rare bipartisanship that we have right now.”
On November 20, the bill cleared the Senate unanimously and passed the House on December 15 and is set to be enacted into law.
What is the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act about?
Through an amendment of the National School Lunch Act, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act enables school cafeterias to offer whole and reduced-fat milk as options by exempting milk’s saturated fat content from counting towards the weekly saturated fat limits school meals in the US must follow.
It also makes it easier for schools to offer non-dairy beverages – as long as those are nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk, improving access to milk alternatives.
Why has the bill caused a stir?
Dairy bodies such as the International Dairy Foods Association argue that reinstating the two most popular types of milk to US schools and could improve consumption rates and therefore childhood nutrition.
But critics, such as consumer advocacy organization the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and lobby group the Plant Powered School Meals Coalition, have insisted that the bill benefits milk producers more than than children.
According to CSPI federal child nutrition campaign manager Meghan Maroney, there is clear evidence that saturated fat raises heart disease risk. She argued that reintroducing whole and reduced fat milk into schools would leave “even more room for excess saturated fat in children’s diets”.
“This is the exact opposite of what is needed to improve child health outcomes,” Maroney said in a statement. “This bill is a clear handout to the dairy industry at the expense of our children’s health.
“Seventy-five to 85% of children consume too much saturated fat. Allowing full-fat milk in schools and curtailing current limits would only worsen this problem, contradicting the current administration’s stated focus on improving children’s health.”
But the bill’s non-dairy beverage provision has united both corners of the industry.
While the legislation will allow schools to provide whole milk, it will also makes it easier for parents to request that their child be provided with a milk alternative – crucial for children who are lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is more prevalent among ethnic minority groups in the US, meaning that the legislation would ease inequalities.
It’s a move that the CSPI supports, and so do the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Friends of the Earth US, and other members of lobby group Plant Powered School Meals Coalition.
“This legislation makes it so much easier for parents to ensure that their child with lactose intolerance gets a healthy plant-based milk in school,” said Stephanie McBurnett, RDN, a nutrition educator for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “It’s a win for the millions of children who experience pain and discomfort from cow’s milk and for those who simply want a non-dairy alternative.”
“All students should be able to access the nutrition they need to thrive and receive beverages they can actually drink,” said Chloë Waterman, senior program manager at Friends of the Earth. “Removing barriers for students to access non-dairy milk options will help school meals align more with dietary science, expand healthy choices for families, and reduce food waste.
“We appreciate Congress’ leadership in ensuring equitable access to nutritionally appropriate beverages at school and urge schools to take advantage of their new ability to offer soy milk on the lunch line without requiring a note.”
And for dairy groups, the amendment means lactose-free milk – which is experiencing growth in retail, bucking the trend of declining milk consumption – can be more easily offered to school children.
“This bill makes it easier for schools and parents to offer the nutritious milk options that children prefer and consume at home, whether those be whole fat, lower fat, or lactose-free,” IDFA president and CEO Michael Dykes said.
“We ask for the President to sign the bill into law so the US Department of Agriculture can begin working with state governments and school districts across the country to make this law a reality.
“IDFA encourages school nutrition directors to plan to incorporate these options into their offerings for students as early as next school year.”
What does this mean for dairy brands?
The likely return of whole and reduced-fat and milk to US schools won’t result in an immediate windfall for producers, nor will it reverse long-term milk consumption trends that have seen around 41% of school milk thrown away.
But brands have the chance to position their products as a nutritious and natural option at mealtimes - in line with wider consumer trends around protein intake, satiety and clean-label foods.
The bill will also make it simpler for lactose-free milk to be more easily accessible in schools - without requiring parents to provide a doctor’s note documenting a disability, as is current law - meaning that dairy processors can position lactose-free as a digestion-friendly option and appeal to those who do not wish to opt for non-dairy alternatives.
It’s a chance to reinvent school milk and, done right, bolster dairy’s image for years to come.
