Hearings to examine S.222, to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow schools that participate in the school lunch program to serve whole milk.

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee

2025-04-01

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

The hearing primarily addressed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act (S.222) and its potential impact on school nutrition programs and children's health, alongside broader discussions on federal support for child nutrition initiatives.[ 00:19:55 ] Witnesses shared expertise on dietary guidelines, the practical implementation of school meal programs, and concerns regarding funding cuts to essential food security initiatives.[ 00:22:12 ]

Themes

Reintroducing Whole and Reduced-Fat Milk in Schools

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, S.222, aims to permit schools to offer whole, reduced, low-fat, and fat-free milk, both flavored and unflavored, enjoying strong bipartisan support.[ 00:19:59 ] Dr. Studi, from USDA, explained that current dietary guidelines recommend most dairy choices be fat-free or low-fat due to widespread overconsumption of saturated fat and calories in the typical American diet, yet acknowledged that whole milk can be part of a healthy diet in an overall context.[ 00:31:55 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Despite this, she noted that 90% of the U.S. population does not meet dairy recommendations, and consumption has been declining, especially among adolescents.[ 00:30:00 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Dr. Ayoub, a registered dietitian nutritionist, highlighted that dairy milk contains 13 essential nutrients, including calcium, potassium, and vitamin D, which are often inadequate in children's diets. He argued that the saturated fat in dairy foods, bound in a protein-fat matrix, behaves differently in the body and is not associated with increased cardiometabolic risk or childhood obesity. Krista Byler, a school food service director, presented data from a trial in her district showing a 50% increase in milk consumption and a 95% reduction in milk waste when a variety of milk fat choices, including whole milk, were offered. Many speakers emphasized that offering a choice of milk types could lead to increased consumption and less waste, improving children's nutritional intake and bone health.

Impact of School Nutrition Programs and Potential Funding Cuts

Senators and witnesses underscored the critical role of school meal programs in providing nutritious, balanced meals that support children's health and academic success.[ 00:21:01 ] The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) was lauded for its success in streamlining access to free meals, reducing red tape, and increasing participation. Dan Gorman, a school food service director, reported a 300% increase in breakfast and 30% increase in lunch participation in his district due to CEP, calling it "smart government." However, deep concerns were raised about proposed cuts to nutrition programs, including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and local food purchase initiatives. Senator Klobuchar warned that cuts to SNAP would directly impact school meals, potentially kicking nearly a million children off child nutrition programs. Lynette Dodson, from the Georgia Department of Education, estimated that raising the CEP threshold could lead to 350 schools and half a million children in Georgia losing access to school meals. Dan Gorman warned that such cuts would "return hunger to the classroom" and harm small agriculture, emphasizing the school meal dollar as "the best dollar that the government spends."

Local Food Programs and Funding

Several speakers expressed dismay over the recent cancellation of local food purchase agreements and farm-to-school programs by the USDA. Senator Klobuchar noted that 56% of funds from these programs went to buying produce, directly contradicting efforts to promote fruit and vegetable consumption. Senator Luján directly challenged the USDA witness on the cancellation of programs like the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program and the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program, asserting that these programs, crucial for local farmers and schools, had been cut. Dan Gorman recounted his district's success with farm-to-school grants, initiating local food movements and community connections, and expressed disappointment at the cancellation.[ 02:04:40 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 These cancellations were seen as undermining progress in providing fresh, nutritious, locally sourced foods, harming both children's diets and local economies.

Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting was largely earnest and passionate, with a strong bipartisan commitment expressed towards improving child nutrition.[ 00:20:22 ] While there was consensus on the importance of child nutrition, discussions involved a respectful but clear divide on specific dietary guidelines, particularly regarding milk fat content. Concerns over proposed funding cuts to broader nutrition programs elicited strong and emotional objections from several senators, highlighting the human impact of these policies. Witnesses from school districts and nutrition expertise conveyed a sense of dedication and urgency, advocating for practical solutions and adequate support for child feeding programs.

Participants

Transcript

Thank you.
Bye.
Good morning and welcome.  It's my privilege to call this hearing to order.  I would like to thank our witnesses for taking the time out of their busy schedules to share your expertise and perspectives on the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, S222.  This bill, which would permit schools to offer students whole, reduced, low-fat and fat-free meals,   Flavored and unflavored milk has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, including from many members on this committee.  Last Congress, the House passed this legislation by an impressive vote of 330 to 99.  I look forward to working with my colleagues on this committee to make progress on this important bill in the Senate.  We know that America is facing an obesity challenge and nutrition is under a microscope.  When it comes to the diet of children, we know there are   by a number of health challenges facing young students, including childhood obesity, access, evolving nutrient science, and many others.  The school meal programs are key in addressing children's health by providing nutritious, balanced meals to ensure students have the fuel they need to be successful in the classroom.  School food services directors work tirelessly to meet nutrition standards, stay within tight budgets,   and determine what students will actually consume.  There's no point in commending ourselves for the nutritious value of school lunches if they wind up in the trash can.  Over the years, we've seen many changes in the nutrition standards across many different venues.   We've discussed and debated requirements for whole grains, sodium, fruits, vegetables, and dairy with in and outside Congress.  Equally important is the engagement from everyone working on these programs, state and local officials, parents, teachers,   and all are involved in supplying school meals.  Today's hearing is an excellent opportunity for us to hear from a wide array of experts to examine the important role of milk in school nutrition programs.
We are fortunate to have a representative from the Department of Ag, along with the nutrition science experts and leaders from both state level and school districts with on the ground experience in implementing school meal programs.   I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and putting their advice into action as we continue this work with Congress.  I now turn to Ranking Member Klobuchar for Opening Statement.
Well, thank you very much.  Thank you, Chairman, for holding this hearing.  Thanks to our witnesses who have traveled to share their perspectives on child nutrition programs, what's working and what we can do to improve them.  I have long supported the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.  Thank you, Senator Marshall.   and this hearing is an important opportunity to underscore the importance of school nutrition and threats to their success.  Ensuring kids have access to nutrition foods at school is a win-win, a win for kids, a win for schools, and a win for our farmers who provide healthy and nutritious foods.  I will note there's kind of a perfect storm going on right now with   the tariffs, which I oppose, these proposed tariffs, with input costs, with weather, which is not in our control, whether it's floods, whether it's tornadoes, and then, of course, with the chaos right now with cuts and with people being terminated and then rehired with avian flu.  When I'm out there, I just did a 14-county rural tour, including several small towns   town halls with the Farmers Union, and I really got a sense of where people are coming from.  And they aren't activists, they're regular farmers, ranchers, mostly small farmers, and it's a lot going on.  And so I would just point out that as one of our witnesses today, Mr. Gorman has said,   The funding that we put into school meals is some of the best money that we spend.  Not only do school meal programs reduce hunger and promote learning, they also support our local farmers and ranchers at a time when it's probably the very worst time I've seen in decades to step away from that because the economy is getting to be much more volatile than it was a few months ago.
That means people are going to need   these programs like the SNAP program, and then you also have the farmers and ranchers that are getting headwinds at them on many different fronts.  Over the last decade, we've made significant improvements to child nutrition.  The nutrition quality of school lunch and school breakfast has improved, and at the same time, we have worked to streamline school meal programs   Community eligibility has been a tremendous success, eliminating burdensome red tape while increasing the number of schools offering meals.  In the 2023-24 school year, nearly 48,000 schools with 23.6 million students participated.   Community eligibility has played a key role in allowing Minnesota to offer meals for children.  To provide meals to all kids in our state, Minnesota chips in state funds on top of the federal reimbursements to allow every school to offer meals.   As this committee looks at federal child nutrition programs, we should ensure changes to the programs improve them rather than take away nutritious foods from kids across the country.  Unfortunately, schools, charities, and food banks across the country are facing a loss of these   fresh nutritious foods because of USDA's recent cancellation of local food purchase agreement and local food for school funds.

Sign up for free to see the full transcript

Accounts help us prevent bots from abusing our site. Accounts are free and will allow you to access the full transcript.

Sign up