The Whole Milk for Health Kids Act of 2025 Promises Kids More Choices in School
This will be the first time in more than a decade that many schools will offer whole milk.
Published Jan. 19 2026, 2:25 p.m. ET
The Trump administration once again made history in January 2026, when Donald Trump signed the Whole Milk for Health Kids Act of 2025. The bill was introduced to the Senate floor on Jan. 23, 2025, and then approved almost a year later when it made its way to the hands of the president.
The act revises the previous guidelines that were put forth during the Obama administration, which governed what types of milk the national School Lunch Program offered school children.
The revision will impact schools that take part in the program, which is governed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These changes appear in line with updated guidance from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK), which promotes more full-fat dairy options.
However, despite having an endorsement from the government agencies, there are some who are critical of the changes. Here's what the Whole Milk for Health Kids Act means for your child.
What is the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025?
On Jan. 14, 2025, Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, which gives schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program the option to serve whole milk and two percent milk in addition to the low-fat and fat-free versions schools are currently offering.
According to CNN, this will also allow schools to offer more varied options, which include plant-based milks that are deemed "nutritionally equivalent" to dairy milk options, like oat or almond milk.
Despite the law being signed already, it may take a little while before schools are able to catch up with the changing guidelines. CNN notes that there are some 30 million children served by the National School Lunch program.
Those children will likely need to be surveyed to see if there's interest in adding additional options, and then schools will have to figure out how to secure the best prices for those new milk options, potentially delaying rollouts.
Why was whole milk banned in schools?
Whole and two percent milk options were phased out of schools in 2012, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Public health experts urged these options to be removed from schools to improve the overall health of those who rely on lunch programs.
These types of milk are high in saturated fats, which can cause elevated levels of LDL, which is known as the "bad" cholesterol. Additionally, whole and two percent milk was believed to be contributing to childhood obesity.
There are other requirements that school lunches have been forced to maintain over the years, which include the amount of calories included in each meal. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, that means that schools are required to provide options where less than 10 percent of the calories come from saturated fat.
Those changes have had a lot of support over the years, including from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association.
While the agencies hadn't issued a statement about these changes as of the time of publication, the messaging has been pretty consistent that children should be offered a balanced diet low in saturated fats.