TAMPA, Fla. — When President Donald Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act in January, it paved the way for 2% and whole milk to return to schools after a nearly 15-year absence.
What You Need To Know
School districts have the option to bring back 2% and whole milk as options
No Bay area school district has committed to having these milks as options but are considering them
M&B Products said it will work with schools on what they need
The Obama administration originally removed those milks in an effort to fight childhood obesity.
Now, school districts will once again have the option to provide a wider range of milk options.
Dale McClellan, the President of M&B Products, a Bay area dairy company, has been working with schools since 2004.
The majority of the milk they supply is low fat, but now school districts have more options.
So far, the response has been limited.
“There’s been a little bit of a handful of phone calls from systems wanting to know, do we plan on doing a bigger variety of butterfat percentages? And we’ve told them we would entertain anything that makes sense,” he said.
Christie Roberts, the Director of Patient Nutrition Services at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, said more options may encourage children to drink more milk.
“If you’re a child that doesn’t like skim milk and then you have the option of a 2% or whole, then it’s going to increase your consumption of milk,” she said.
No matter the type of milk, Roberts said children should have between two and three servings of milk a day.
“Younger children, we do recommend the more full or fat options for their growth and development,” she said. “But as they get older and they’re trying to work towards a healthy, lean physique and health, then the lower-fat options might be good.”
Spectrum News reached out to local school districts to find out if they are considering adding 2% and whole milk as options.
No districts have committed to adding the products, but are considering it.
Most provided statements were similar to this from Hillsborough County Schools:
“We are exploring how we might add whole milk and 2% milk to our offerings, as these products are not part of our current contracts with our dairy vendor.”
Sarasota County Schools provided this statement:
“If it is ultimately determined that Sarasota County Schools will move forward with offering 2% and whole milk as part of the National School Lunch Program, the earliest anticipated implementation would be the 2026–2027 school year.”