Whole Milk in Schools is Illegal, which Limits Healthy Options for Our Children

How did whole milk get removed from schools and how to navigate getting it back in lunchrooms?

In 2010, USDA, through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, removed whole milk, along with other good food options like rectangle pizza (iykyk), from schools in an attempt to reduce childhood obesity believing the higher fat content of whole milk caused childhood obesity.

Unfortunately, they got it wrong. Milk, in any form, is a nutritious and delicious choice for all kids. New studies as noted in the Men’s Journal show whole milk has been shown to decrease BMI in children and shows a higher absorption of vitamin D. They believe higher fat content in whole milk fills up a kid's belly making it less likely to overeat fatty high caloric foods. 

Someone who most likely doesn’t have a nutrition background decided to go after a healthy beverage instead of pushing for active lifestyles. Instead of focusing on keeping our kids healthy by promoting daily exercise, I guess they believed eliminating certain foods instead of teaching exercise as the foundation for a healthy life was an easier choice.  

Your kids currently don’t have the option to drink whole milk in school; however, recess and physical education classes are not required in all states. How is this even possible?

Kids, like us adults, need daily exercise. If your school system doesn’t have either you might want to go to a school board meeting and/or get involved in your kids' school. According to the 2016 Shape of the Nation Report, which studied our 50 states and the District of Columbia (51 total jurisdictions), only 39 require elementary school students to take physical education, 37 have that requirement for junior high school students, and 44 make physical education mandatory for high school students. You can check here to see if your state requires PE. 

Fortunately U.S. Rep. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, from Pennsylvania, who is a descendant of a long line of dairy farmers and serves as the Republican Leader of the House Agriculture Committee, and U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, from New York, who is a Democratic member of the Dairy Farmers Caucus authored the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2021 to bring flavored and unflavored whole milk back to the schools. I encourage you to confirm if your U.S. Representatives have signed onto this bill, if they haven’t, give them a call and ask them to sponsor this bill. 

Bottom line, in a time when we, as parents, need nutrient-dense choices for our children who are hounded by commercials and checkout aisles of junk, why would anyone say whole milk is a bad option?

I mean, c’mon. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know whole milk is better than a high-caffeine, high-sugar beverage.