CNN – Whole milk could be coming to your local school cafeteria for the first time in more than a decade.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed a bill that allows schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to serve whole and 2% milk alongside fat-free and low-fat versions.
The move comes a week after the US Department of Health and Human Services released new US dietary guidelines that highlight whole-fat dairy products, a recommendation that has received mixed reviews from nutritionists and medical experts.
The new legislation, which passed Congress last year by unanimous consent, rolls back US Department of Agriculture rules approved by the Obama administration that required milk served in schools to be fat-free or low-fat, part of efforts to fight the childhood obesity epidemic.
The new law also allows nondairy beverages that are “nutritionally equivalent” to fluid milk to be offered, such as fortified plant-based milks.
“Removing whole milk did not improve health, it damaged it,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at the White House signing event, claiming that some students turned to caffeinated and sweetened drinks instead of skim or low-fat milk. “Milk fat is not junk food.”
More whole milk was sold in the US in 2024 than other types, with 2% coming in second …
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USDA National School Lunch Program – On Jan. 14, 2026, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025. This law amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act revising requirements for milk provided through the United States Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program.
This memorandum and the attachment provide guidance on implementation of the updated fluid milk requirements for school lunch as required by the new law. This amendment to the statute applies only to the NSLP.
FULL TEXT OF THE ACT:
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. Short title.
This Act may be cited as the “Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. Organic or non-organic whole milk permissible.
(a) In general.—Section 9(a)(2) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(2)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A)—
(A) by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the following:
“(i) shall offer students a variety of fluid milk;
“(ii) may offer students options which may include flavored and unflavored organic or nonorganic whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free fluid milk and lactose-free fluid milk, and nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk and meet the nutritional standards established by the Secretary (which shall, among other requirements to be determined by the Secretary, include fortification of calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin D to levels found in cow’s milk); and”; and
(B) in clause (iii), by striking “physician” and inserting “physician, parent, or legal guardian”;
(2) in subparagraph (C), in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “fluid milk products” and inserting “products described in subparagraph (A)(ii)”; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
“(D) SATURATED FAT.—Milk fat included in any fluid milk provided under subparagraph (A) shall not be considered saturated fat for purposes of measuring compliance with the allowable average saturated fat content of a meal under section 210.10 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
“(E) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (B)(ii) is not applicable to a school that offers nondairy beverages under subparagraph (A)(ii).”.
(b) Conforming amendments.—
(1) Section 14(f) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1762a(f)) is amended in the third sentence by inserting “or a nondairy beverage that meets the nutritional standards described in section 9(a)(2)(B)” after “milk”.
(2) Section 20(c) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b(c)) is amended by striking “patterns and fluid milk requirements” and inserting “patterns, fluid milk requirements, and nutritional standards for nondairy beverages”.
SEC. 3. Including food allergy information in existing training modules for local food service personnel.
(a) Food allergy training module.—Section 7(g)(2)(B)(iii) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(g)(2)(B)(iii)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating subclauses (II) and (III) as subclauses (III) and (IV), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subclause (I) the following:
“(II) food allergies, including information on the best practices to prevent, recognize, and respond to food-related allergic reactions;”.
(b) Certification.—Section 7(g)(2)(B)(ii)(II) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(g)(2)(B)(ii)(II)) is amended by striking “clause (i)” and inserting “clauses (i) and (iii)”.
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