USDA Starts Process to Bring Whole Milk Back to School Meals
January 14, 2026 | Source: Civil Eats | by Rebekah Alvey
January 14, 2025 – Schools may begin serving whole milk for the first time in more than a decade in a matter of weeks, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) took steps to implement a bill signed into law Wednesday.
The agency has now posted rulemaking to implement the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said during the bill signing at the White House. This rulemaking process will take a few weeks before “the milk starts moving in” to schools, she added.
A law from the Obama administration removed whole milk from the federal school lunch program in 2010, as part of an effort to make school meals healthier. Schools have only offered fat-free and low-fat, flavored and unflavored milk for over a decade. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act again allows whole milk and makes it easier for students with dietary intolerances to access non-dairy options.