Two Pennsylvania state representatives, Clint Owlett and John Lawrence, have expressed support for the recent congressional approval of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act. The legislation will allow schools to offer whole milk and flavored milk as part of their breakfast and lunch programs.
“After years of turning up their noses at skim milk, students across the country could soon have the option to enjoy a drink of whole milk or flavored milk as part of their school breakfast or lunch,” said Owlett and Lawrence. “Milk offers our kids 13 essential nutrients that support health and academic success – nutrients they’ve been missing out on because the Obama administration banned these options in favor of milks most kids would never even think of drinking.”
The lawmakers credited Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson for his efforts in sponsoring the bill in the U.S. House. They noted that since federal restrictions were put in place more than a decade ago, student milk consumption has dropped by 35 percent. At the same time, Pennsylvania has lost thousands of dairy farms.
“Studies have shown a 35% reduction in student milk consumption since the Obama administration forced schools to drop whole and flavored milks from their student breakfast and lunch offerings well over a decade ago,” Owlett said. “At the same time, the state has lost thousands of dairy farms. Clearly these trends are connected and it’s time we act to turn them around.”
Lawrence added, “Passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act is the capstone to a yearslong effort to give kids better options when it comes to their school lunches. I greatly appreciate Congressman Thompson’s continued leadership on this issue, and the broad bipartisan support this effort has seen in both chambers of Congress.”
Owlett and Lawrence have also introduced similar measures at the state level over three legislative sessions but agreed that federal action will benefit all students.
The new law allows schools to serve whole, 2%, 1%, or skim milk—flavored or plain—as part of reimbursable meals. It exempts milkfat from saturated-fat limits and prohibits sourcing from Chinese state-owned enterprises. Schools are not required to make changes but now have more flexibility.
The president is expected to sign the bill into law as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.
