U.S. Senate Advances Provisions Expanding Non-dairy Milk Access in Schools  

WASHINGTON —  Friends of the Earth U.S., The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and other members of the Plant Powered School Meals Coalition applaud the Senate for unanimously advancing provisions that will make it easier for students to access non-dairy milk options in schools. The changes, included in the amended Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act (S.222), were passed by the full Senate today and remove key barriers that have long prevented students, especially those who are lactose intolerant, from receiving a nutritionally appropriate beverage option at school.  

Under current law, students are only guaranteed a substitute for cow’s milk — such as fortified soy milk — if a parent submits a physician’s note documenting a disability, and schools are prohibited from proactively offering soy milk in the lunch line. This red tape places an unnecessary burden on families and disproportionately impacts communities of color: Approximately 95% of Asians, 60% to 80% of African Americans, 80% to 100% of American Indians, and 50% to 80% of Hispanics are lactose intolerant, according to the National Institutes of Health. 

“Putting parents in charge of their children’s nutrition at school is long overdue. As is removing the unnecessary red tape that prevents students from being served healthy nondairy milks at school,” said Neal Barnard, MD, FACC, president of the Physicians Committee. “If Congress truly wants schools to serve milks that best meet their students’ needs, soy milk and other healthy nondairy options should be easily available to all who want them.” 

“All students should be able to access the nutrition they need to thrive and receive beverages they can actually drink,” said Chloë Waterman, Senior Program Manager at Friends of the Earth. “Removing barriers for students to access non-dairy milk options will help school meals align more with dietary science, expand healthy choices for families, and reduce food waste. We appreciate the Senate’s leadership in ensuring equitable access to nutritionally appropriate beverages at school.” 

If passed by the House and signed into law, these changes would allow schools to offer a nutritionally equivalent non-dairy milk option to all students and would require schools to provide a cow’s milk substitute for any student who has a disability — which USDA considers to include lactose intolerance — based on a parental request. 

This progress follows years of advocacy from the Plant Powered School Meals Coalition, which works to expand nutritious and delicious plant-based food and beverage options in K-12 schools, and leadership from members of Congress on related bills, including Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-New York, and Rep. Alma Adams’, D-North Carolina, Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act (formerly known as the Healthy Future Students and Earth Act), and Rep. Troy Carter, D-Louisiana, and Sen. John Fetterman’s, D-Pennsylvania, FISCAL ACT. 

Contacto de prensa: Lindsay Tice, 202-783-7400 ext. 8403, [email protected]