Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025
4/2/2025, 11:03 AMSummary of Bill S 222
Bill 119 s 222, also known as the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, is a proposed amendment to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. The purpose of this bill is to allow schools that participate in the school lunch program to serve whole milk to students.Currently, the National School Lunch Program only allows schools to serve low-fat or fat-free milk to students. This bill seeks to change that restriction and give schools the option to serve whole milk to students. Proponents of the bill argue that whole milk provides essential nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, that are important for children's growth and development.
If passed, this bill would give schools more flexibility in their meal planning and allow them to offer a wider variety of dairy options to students. It is important to note that this bill does not mandate schools to serve whole milk, but rather gives them the choice to do so. Overall, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act aims to promote the health and well-being of students by providing them with nutritious options in school meals. The bill is currently under consideration in the US Congress and has garnered support from various stakeholders in the education and dairy industries.
Congressional Summary of S 222
Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025
This bill revises requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Currently, schools participating in the program must provide milk that is consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans; USDA regulations require milk to be fat-free or low-fat and allow milk to be flavored or unflavored. The bill modifies these restrictions and instead permits schools to offer students whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free flavored and unflavored milk. The milk that is offered may be organic or nonorganic.
Further, schools currently must provide a substitute for fluid milk, on receipt of a written statement from a licensed physician, for students whose disability restricts their diet. Under the bill, a parent or legal guardian may also provide the written statement.
In addition, schools currently participating in the program must provide meals that meet certain nutrition requirements; USDA regulations require that the average saturated fat content of the meals offered must be less than 10% of the total calories. Under the bill, fluid milk is excluded from the saturated fat content calculation; milk fat included in any fluid milk provided by the program must not be considered saturated fat for the purposes of measuring compliance with USDA regulations.
