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Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Whole, skim, or soy? The congressional battle over milk in school lunches
In 2010, United States lawmakers passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which aimed to tackle both childhood obesity and hunger by making school meals more nutritious. Two years later, the Department of Agriculture updated its guidance for schools participating in the National School Lunch Program, or NSLP, in accordance with the law. Whereas schools could previously serve fat-free, 1 percent, 2 percent, or whole milk and be eligible for federal reimbursement, now they could only recoup meal costs if they ditched 2 percent and whole milk, which were thought to be too high in saturated fat for kids. Representative Glenn 'G.T.' Thompson has been on a mission to change that. The Republican legislator representing Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district believes the 2010 law sparked a decline in students drinking milk across the board. 'We have lost a generation of milk drinkers since whole milk was demonized and removed from schools,' he told a local agribusiness group in 2021. Between 2019 and 2023, Thompson introduced the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act — a bill that would allow schools to serve whole milk again under the NSLP — three times without success. In January of this year, he reintroduced the bill once again — and inspired a group of animal welfare, environmental, and public health organizations to push for a vegan countermeasure. This month, a bipartisan group of legislators put forward the Freedom in School Cafeterias and Lunches, or FISCAL, Act, which would expand the definition of milk under the NSLP to include plant-based options. Currently, schools participating in the NSLP can offer milk substitutions to students with a note from a parent or doctor — but the FISCAL Act is promoting a world where vegan milks are offered freely, alongside cow's milk. If students end up replacing their daily cow's milk with a plant-based alternative, this has the potential to bring down food-related greenhouse gas emissions. But you won't hear supporters of the FISCAL Act talking up the climate benefits of plant-based milk in the halls of Congress. Instead, they're focusing on the health benefits of soy, oat, and other vegan drinks for students who can't digest or simply don't want cow's milk. 'Most of this nation's children of color are lactose intolerant, and yet our school lunch program policy makes it difficult for these kids to access a nutritious fluid beverage that doesn't make them sick,' said Senator Cory Booker, a Democratic co-sponsor of the bill. This focus on student health — and the absence of any environmental talking points — reflect the eternally tricky politics around milk in U.S. schools, which have become even more complicated in President Donald Trump's second term. Milk has a relatively low carbon footprint compared to other animal proteins, like beef, pork, poultry, and cheese. But dairy production still comes with considerable climate impacts — mainly from the food grown to feed cows, as well as methane emitted via cow burps and manure. In 2020, researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that a dairy cow can release 350 pounds of methane every year through their burps — meaning, all told, dairy cows are responsible for 2.7 percent of the U.S.'s total greenhouse gases. Nondairy milks — fortified drinks like soy, almond, oat, and rice milk — have varying impacts on the environment and climate, but all of these plant-based alternatives use less land and water than cow's milk to produce, and result in fewer emissions. Under the NSLP, schools cannot be reimbursed for the cost of meals unless they offer students milk. The Center for a Humane Economy, an animal welfare and environmental group backing the FISCAL Act, calls this America's 'milk mandate.' In 2023, student Marielle Williamson sued her Los Angeles high school for not allowing her to set up an informational table about plant-based milk unless she also promoted dairy. Subsidized school lunches have been described as 'a guaranteed market' for farmers' products; this is all but acknowledged when legislators like Thompson blame school lunch for the decline of the dairy industry. Indeed, in a recent Senate agricultural committee hearing over the whole milk bill, Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, said, 'Not only do school meal programs reduce hunger and promote learning, they also support our local farmers and ranchers at a time when it's probably the very worst time I've seen in decades' for farmers. The animal welfare groups backing the FISCAL Act argue schools need more flexibility to meet the needs of students with lactose intolerance. Consumption of milk has fallen consistently since the 1970s, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service. That change is thought to be the result of shifting diets, as well as perhaps a reflection of America's growing racial and ethnic diversity. It is estimated that half of American adults have difficulty digesting lactose, the protein found in milk and many other dairy products. These rates are higher in Black, Asian American, Hispanic, Native American, and Jewish communities. 'We've had so much marketing to tell us that the milk of a cow is, you know, nature's perfect food, and it clearly is not,' said Wayne Pacelle, the head of Animal Wellness Action, an advocacy group that opposes animal cruelty and supports the FISCAL Act. Pacelle acknowledged the climate impact of the dairy industry: 'It's just a truth that cows are big contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.' But he noted that arguments related to the climate are unlikely to sway the debate over school lunch beverages. 'The Republican Congress is not really so attuned to that,' he said. As a result, his group and the others pushing for the FISCAL Act aren't talking much about the environmental considerations of drinking cow's milk. This aligns with a shift happening in the broader food industry under the second Trump administration, as producers and manufacturers figure out which talking points are most appealing to leaders like Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has called for schools to start offering whole milk again. The Republicans pushing for whole milk in schools are talking up the health and economic benefits of whole milk, an argument that came into sharp relief during a Senate agricultural committee hearing in early April. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, who drank from a tall glass of milk before addressing the committee, referenced the term 'Make America Healthy Again,' or MAHA, when making his case. The movement, popularized by RFK, Jr., taps into wellness, environmental, and food safety concerns in the general public and offers solutions based in pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. Marshall, a co-sponsor of the whole milk bill in the Senate, said MAHA is 'about whole foods, and I think we could categorize whole milk as part of' that framework. While Republicans and Democrats alike may be side-stepping the dairy industry's environmental impact and spending more time talking about student health, there is one environmental consideration that's caught the attention of advocates of both whole milk and plant-based milk. That's food waste, a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions. Forty-five percent of the milk cartons offered at breakfast in schools are thrown out annually because students don't take them. When students do grab milk at breakfast, a fourth of those cartons still wind up unopened in the trash. Krista Byler, a food service director for the Union City Area School District in northwestern Pennsylvania, spoke at the Senate agricultural committee hearing and said serving whole milk in her schools helped milk consumption go up, ultimately reducing the amount of milk wasted. 'I hated seeing such an exorbitant amount of milk wasted daily in our small district and was hearing stories of even bigger waste ratios in larger districts,' Byler said in her written testimony. A similar case has been made by Pacelle and other supporters of the FISCAL Act, who argue students will be more likely to drink — and finish — their beverage at school if they have the option to go plant-based. Recently, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids bill passed a House agriculture committee vote. If it passes a full House vote, it could then move on to the Senate. Meanwhile, the FISCAL Act is still in committee in both houses of Congress. Pacelle said the best chance the FISCAL Act has of passing is if its provisions are included as an amendment to the whole milk bill — framing it not as a rival measure, but as a complementary effort to create more choice for students. 'Moving it independently is unlikely because of the power of the dairy lobby,' said Pacelle, 'and the G.T. Thompsons of the world.' This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Whole, skim, or soy? The congressional battle over milk in school lunches on Apr 18, 2025.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Applications open in New Mexico for Summer EBT program
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The New Mexico Public Education Department has opened applications for a program that is aimed at keeping students fed during the summer. Story continues below Business: Two big New Mexico brands up for sale as owner looks toward retirement Education: Albuquerque high school students get up-close look at big-time film production News: Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham authorizes National Guard deployment to ABQ SUN Bucks, also known as Summer EBT (S-EBT), is a federal program that helps families by giving them money to buy groceries during the summer when children are not in school. Families that qualify for this program will get $120 for each child that's part of the program. The money will go on an EBT card and can be used at grocery stores, farmers markets, and some online retailers. PED said there will be some students who are not eligible for SUN Bucks. Students who are not automatically eligible will need to apply; however, if a student does not attend an NSLP/SBP participating school, the student is not eligible for SUN Bucks. Some Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and private schools do not participate in NSLP/SBP. Automatically eligible (No Application Needed): A student that has been approved for free or reduced-priced meals by having filled out a school meals application in a school participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP); A student's school may have reported the child to be homeless, a migrant, or in foster care; or A student received SNAP, MAGI-Children's Medicaid (only those on Medicaid categories 401, 403, MA-SSI, DDW or Foster Medicaid 066), or TANF any time during the school year and was between the ages of 5 through 18. Parents will be sent a notice to inform them of their child's automatic eligibility. Apply for SUN Bucks: Must attend an NSLP/SBP participating school. If your student does not have an approved NSLP/SBP application on file with the school. If your student attends a school that participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program and provides free meals for all, they are not automatically eligible and may still need to apply to receive the SunBucks benefit. Have a household income that is less than 185% FPL. Reside in the state of NM. Families will have 122 days to use the benefits from the date they are issued. If there is any unspent benefit on the 122nd day, the benefits will be removed from the child's card. To learn more about SUN Bucks and to apply, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bipartisan senators unveil measure providing flexibility in school lunch milk options
A bipartisan trio in the Senate unveiled a proposal Wednesday to require schools to offer nondairy milk options at lunch to accommodate students who are lactose intolerant or have other dietary restrictions. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has long required school lunches to include milk on all trays in order for schools to be reimbursed for the meals. But the Freedom in School Cafeterias and Lunches (FISCAL) Act — introduced by Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) — would update the legislation to require schools to also offer students 'plant-based milk' that is 'consistent with nutritional standards established by the Secretary.' 'We need to be doing whatever it takes to make sure our kids are fed in school,' Fetterman said in a statement. '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.' Booker said the bill also seeks to remedy inequity in the school lunch program, noting many people of color are lactose intolerant and are deprived of some nutrition that other students might get through milk at lunch. 'Most of this nation's children of color are lactose intolerant, and yet our school lunch program policy makes it difficult for these kids to access a nutritious fluid beverage that doesn't make them sick,' Booker said in a statement. 'This bipartisan and bicameral legislation will bring greater equity to the lunchroom, by giving students the option to choose a nutritious milk substitute that meets their dietary needs.' The senators also touted the legislation as fiscally sound, pointing to data indicating 40 percent of milk cartons at lunches get discarded without even being opened. '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,' Fetterman said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
02-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Bipartisan senators unveil measure providing flexibility in school lunch milk options
A bipartisan trio in the Senate unveiled a proposal on Wednesday to require schools to offer non-dairy milk options at lunch to accommodate students who are lactose intolerant or have other dietary restrictions. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has long required school lunches to include milk on all trays in order for schools to be reimbursed for the meals. But the 'Freedom in School Cafeterias and Lunches (FISCAL) Act' — introduced by Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) — would update the legislation to require schools to also offer students 'plant-based milk' that is 'consistent with nutritional standards established by the Secretary.' 'We need to be doing whatever it takes to make sure our kids are fed in school,' Fetterman said in a statement. '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.' Booker said the bill also seeks to remedy inequity in the school lunch program, noting many people of color are lactose intolerant and are deprived of some nutrition that other students might get through milk at lunch. 'Most of this nation's children of color are lactose intolerant, and yet our school lunch program policy makes it difficult for these kids to access a nutritious fluid beverage that doesn't make them sick,' Booker said in a statement. 'This bipartisan and bicameral legislation will bring greater equity to the lunchroom, by giving students the option to choose a nutritious milk substitute that meets their dietary needs.' The senators also touted the legislation as fiscally sound, pointing to data indicating 40 percent of milk cartons at lunches get discarded without even being opened. '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,' Fetterman said.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
