U.S. Senate Takes Action to Expand Nondairy Milk Access in Schools

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Friends of the Earth, and other members of the Plant Powered School Meals Coalition applaud the Senate Agriculture Committee for advancing provisions today that will make it easier for students to access nondairy milk options in schools. The changes, included in the amended Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act (S.222), 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 on the lunch line. This red tape places an unnecessary burden on families and disproportionately impacts communities of color, in which rates of lactose intolerance are highest. 

“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 nondairy milk options will help school meals align more with dietary science, expand healthy choices for families, and reduce food waste. Thank you to the Senate Agriculture Committee members for their leadership to ensure equitable access to nutritionally appropriate beverages at school.”

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

This major step forward 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 the Healthy Future Students and Earth Pilot Program Act by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and the FISCAL Act by Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).  

Note to reporters: To arrange an interview with Dr. Barnard or another Physicians Committee expert, please contact Kim Kilbride at 202-717-8665 or kkilbride [at] pcrm.org (kkilbride[at]pcrm[dot]org).