More Milk Options Good For Students, Producers

June is National Dairy Month, and U.S. dairy producers received some good news when the Senate Ag Committee unanimously approved a bill expanding milk options in school lunch menus.

“Currently, the policy is that they can have either low fat or skim milk, fat-free milk, either flavored milk, like chocolate or white milk, but anything that has a higher fat content, like 2% or whole milk, is not allowed under current guidelines, which are ultimately overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture," said Chris Galen of the National Milk Producers Federation. 

So, where does the “Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act” go from here?

“The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act is legislation, both in the Senate and the House, that would expand those choices to give kids, once again, the opportunity to have 2% milk, and, in some cases, whole milk," Galen noted.  "So, the bill has been approved in the House by the House Education Committee, and the Senate Agriculture Committee approved it, so now what happens is that, hopefully, the bills will be able to be voted on at some point here this year.”

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