NMPF’s executive vice president Paul Bleiberg tells the listeners of Dairy Radio Now about the passage this week by the House Education and Workforce Committee of new legislation that would increase the range of milk options available to school children. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would give schools the option of serving 2% and whole milk once again. The bill is now expected to move to the full House for further consideration.
Tag: Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Ac
NMPF’s Galen Explains Importance of New Legislation to Increase School Milk Choices
NMPF’s senior vice president Chris Galen discusses the introduction of new legislation in the House and Senate that would increase the range of milk options available to school children. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would give schools the option of serving 2% and whole milk once again. The House passed a similar bill in 2023, but the Senate didn’t act on it – prompting a renewed effort this year in Congress.
NMPF’s Bjerga on Whole Milk, Lactose-Free Gains
Consumers are increasingly turning to whole milk, an important point to consider as Congress considers the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, NMPF Executive Vice President Alan Bjerga says in an interview with Big Radio in Janesville, WI. Along with whole milk, consumers are also drinking more lactose-free varieties, an important part of the industry’s future.
Dairy Better Benefits Children through Science-Based Federal Food Policies
The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act may have its best chance yet of passing Congress this year. But the potential return of whole and 2% percent options to school lunch menus is only one piece of the evolution of dairy’s role in federal nutrition policies, as two NMPF experts say in a Dairy Defined podcast released today.
“We’re in a pretty exciting spot right now for dairy and nutrition,” said Miquela Hanselman, NMPF’s manager for regulatory affairs. “National Milk is working with other dairy organizations to kind of make sure that we have all of our bases covered.”
Hanselman is NMPF’s point person on the upcoming, twice-a-decade revision to the dietary guidelines used in federal nutrition programs, due in 2025. She’s joined in the podcast by Senior Director for Government Relations Claudia Larson, who is advocating for whole milk legislation in Congress. Evolving science – and attitudes – toward the benefits of whole milk in children’s diets is building momentum for expanded milk options in federal programs.
“The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act expands the varieties of healthy milk options schools can choose to serve in meal programs, and we see this as a commons-sense approach for addressing nutrition insecurity among our nation’s youth,” she said. “Children and adolescents do not meet their daily dairy intake recommendations, and this is a nutrition problem for our kids because dairy plays an unparalleled role in delivering the vital nutrients they need to grow and thrive.”
NMPF has a call to action urging lawmakers to support the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act here. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file below. Please attribute information to NMPF.
