- On January 14, 2026, President Donald J. Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025. This initiative sought to revise requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to align with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans was published on January 7, 2026, and the recommendations included a departure from low-fat and fat-free dairy to emphasis full-fat dairy as part of a balanced diet, as we previously blogged.
- Notably, the Act amended Section 9(a)(2) of the Richard B. Russell National School lunch Act to permit schools to offer 2% milk and whole milk in addition to low-fat and fat-free milk. This Act supersedes 7 CFR 210.10(d)(1)(i) which only permitted schools to offer fat-free or low-fat milk options. The Act also allows lactose-free milk as well as nondairy beverages that are “nutritionally equivalent” to fluid milk to be offered, such as fortified plant-based milks.
- Additionally, the Act exempts milk fat in any fluid milk from being calculated as part of the saturated fat content limit of 10 percent of total calories in a school lunch.
- That same day, the USDA issued program implementation guidance to schools.
- As of now, the Act appears to only affect lunches provided by schools, not breakfasts. Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and report on USDA regulations related to the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025.