U.S. House Passes Spanberger-Backed Bill to Allow Whole Milk in School Cafeterias

The Bipartisan “Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act” Would Allow Flavored and Unflavored Whole Milk in Participating Schools

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives today voted to pass a bipartisan bill that U.S. Representative Spanberger helped introduce to allow unflavored and flavored whole milk to be offered in Virginia’s school cafeterias.

The Spanberger-cosponsored Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would amend requirements for milk under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National School Lunch Program to allow whole milk to be served in school cafeterias once again. Under current regulations, schools participating in the National School Lunch Program are only allowed to serve fat-free or low-fat milk.

“Whole milk can be a source of many nutrients that kids often lack — including calcium, potassium, vitamin D, and zinc. When students toss their skim milk into the cafeteria garbage cans, they are not getting any of these vitamins and minerals,” said Spanberger, the only Virginian on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. “By allowing schools to provide students with a larger selection of milk, our bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would help kids maintain a diet of essential nutrients and build healthy habits. I’m glad to see Republicans and Democrats agree on the need to support healthy kids, and I encourage my U.S. Senate colleagues to follow our lead and send this legislation to the President’s desk.”

Whole milk provides many health benefits to children — including better bone health, lower blood pressure, and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease or Type 2 diabetes.

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act is led by U.S. Representatives Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA-15) — Chair of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee — and Kim Schrier, M.D. (D-WA-08).

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