Got Whole Milk? Senate Panel Moves to End Low-Fat Only Rule in School Lunches.

The Make America Healthy Again movement claimed another win this week when the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that would once again allow whole and reduced-fat milk to be served in school cafeterias.

“I’m encouraged to see the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act advance. This common-sense, bipartisan bill gives students and families the ability to choose the milk options they enjoy and supports our dairy farmers,” Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, told The Daily Signal.

“I would love to get this bill to President Trump’s desk. Our kids deserve healthy choices, and our farmers deserve our support,” Thompson said.

During the Obama administration, Congress passed a law that led to the removal of both whole and 2% milk from schools participating in the National School Lunch Program in an effort to reduce childhood obesity and the likelihood of heart disease in children. Currently, schools that participate in the federal program can offer only 1% milk or skim milk.

“We are encouraging programs to switch from low-fat dairy—which the antiquated Dietary Guidelines require them to promote—to full fat/whole milk,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in a March post on X. 

President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the White House on May 22. (Chip Somodevilla/ Getty Images)

Skeptics of those efforts by the federal government to reduce chronic diseases in children have long pointed out that rather than substituting their whole milk or 2% milk intake in favor of the 1% or skim varieties, many children opt to not drink the milk offered by schools at all because they don’t like the taste of it. That leads to the counterproductive result of children missing out entirely on key nutrients provided by milk. 

Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., a medical doctor, made that point in a statement after the House passed its version of the bill in 2023. 

“As a pediatrician, I have spent my career dedicated to the well-being of children, and I know how important adequate nutrition is for growing kids. A healthy diet early in life leads to proper physical growth, improved academic performance, and a strong foundation for healthy eating habits as an adult,” Schrier said.

“Milk, which provides essential calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin D, is an essential part of that diet. Whole milk is a filling, nutritious option that will help ensure that our children are well-fed and healthy,” she explained. 

Removing whole and 2% milk was driven by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which ended the offering of those milk choices in school launches starting in 2012. The removal was justified because those milk products are higher in saturated fat and calories. 

Congress’ requirements affect almost 30 million schoolchildren each day who are served by national school lunch and breakfast programs. 

Dairy manufacturers supported the new bill, writing in a letter to Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., the Agriculture Committee chairman, and ranking member Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., that according to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, “between 68% and 76.2% of school-age males and between 77.4% and 94.3% of school-age females are not consuming enough dairy.”

Companion legislation, also titled the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, was already moved out of the House Education and Workforce Committee on a 24 to 10 bipartisan vote in February. The legislation still needs to be voted on by the full House and Senate. 

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