U.S. Senators tout passage of Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act
Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program would be allowed to serve whole and reduced-fat milk under new legislation approved by Congress recently.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act after the bill cleared the U.S. Senate unanimously. The measure will head to the president’s desk for final consideration.
From Pennsylvania, Sens. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., praised the bipartisan legislation, saying it expands options for students while supporting dairy farmers across the commonwealth.
The senators also recognized Pennsylvania’s role as a major milk producer and said the bill restores choice for schools and families.
“This is a common sense bill that benefits everyone,” they said in a joint statement. “Pennsylvania farmers supply the country with some of the best milk year-round, and instead of limiting choices in our schools, this will expand the nutritious and healthy options for our kids.”
Meanwhile, local businesses like Marburger Farm Dairy will look to capitalize on the legislation.
“We’re hoping that kids like the taste of whole milk and hope to have better sales in the schools,” Marburger Farm Dairy president Craig Marburger said.
If signed into law, the bill would reverse federal restrictions that have limited the types of milk schools can serve, allowing districts to choose once again.
Marburger said his company and others will begin exploring what the bill actually means for milk producers moving forward.
“We still have to investigate what all the food service companies are allowing in the state,” he said. “There’s questions to be answered on what it means to the students and businesses.”
Marburger said his business produces about 7,000 to 8,000 gallons of school milk a week, with about 3-4% of that being whole milk. Chocolate milk, meanwhile, makes up about 75% of that total.
“We hope that it produces more lifelong milk drinkers compared to when chocolate milk was first introduced into schools,” he said.
