02-04-2025
Pa. Senator calls for flexible milk options in school
(WKBN) – Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman is among those introducing a bill to give schools more flexibility in the beverages they serve to students.
The Freedom in School Cafeterias and Lunches (FISCAL) Act is a bipartisan bill that would allow schools to serve alternative beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk for students who are lactose intolerant or may have other disabilities.
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) requires students to have milk on their trays for the school to be reimbursed for the meal. If a child wants an alternative, they need to get a note from a doctor or a parent, but schools may not have a dairy alternative available.
According to a news release from Fetterman's office, the FISCAL Act addresses this by allowing the NSLP to easily serve the same dairy alternatives as other federal nutrition assistance programs.
'We need to be doing whatever it takes to make sure our kids are fed in school. This bipartisan bill cuts the unnecessary red tape in our nutrition assistance programs so students can access meals that work for them and their dietary needs,' Fetterman said. 'There are over 30 million food-insecure children in this country, yet current school lunch policies waste $400 million worth of food each year. Feeding our kids and keeping them healthy isn't a red or blue issue. I hope my colleagues can all agree with that and work with us to get this signed into law this Congress.'
The release cites a USDA study that 40 percent of the cartons of milk served in schools are thrown in the garbage, unwanted and unopened.
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