More milk options will now be available to students served by the National School Lunch Program, following President Donald Trump’s signing of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 into law.
Schools participating in the program were required to provide skim or low-fat milk, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now, schools are allowed to offer milk options: whole, reduced-fat (2%), low-fat (1%), and fat-free fluid milk, as well as lactose-free fluid milk and nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk and meet the USDA nutritional standards for fluid milk substitutes.
Cultured milk, such as cultured buttermilk, cultured kefir milk, and cultured acidophilus milk; acidified milk, such as acidified kefir milk and acidified acidophilus milk; and ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk meet the new requirements. Like before, milk can be flavored or unflavored. However, unflavored milk should be offered at each meal service and flavored milk should not exceed an added sugars limit. All milk options offered also must be pasteurized.
These changes are in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 released by the White House, the USDA explained. In a press release issued last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the new guidelines are “the most significant reset of federal nutrition policy in decades.”
“For decades, the Dietary Guidelines favored corporate interests over common sense, science-driven advice to improve the health of Americans,” said the HHS. “That ends today. The new dietary guidelines call for prioritizing high-quality protein, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables and whole grains – and avoiding highly processed foods and refined carbohydrates.”
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed for a rethink of nutrition and medicine in the U.S. His actions since taking the position last year have included pushing for artificial dyes to be removed from the U.S. food supply and more controversial changes to vaccine and over-the-counter medicine recommendations. He also expressed intentions to revise dairy recommendations, George Mason University noted.
When it comes to whole milk, previous concerns about its fat content have been reconsidered in recent years. For example, the Mayo Clinic said in 2024 that “some recent research suggests that eating milk, cheese and yogurt – regardless of fat content – is not directly associated with a higher risk of heart disease or stroke.”
George Mason University explained that whole milk contains about 3.25% milkfat, making it higher in calories and fat than reduced-fat (2%), low-fat (1%), or fat-free (skim) milk. For adults, skim or fat-free dairy is typically recommended to limit saturated fat intake, but “for children under two, whole milk is generally recommended for brain development, unless otherwise directed by a health care provider,” the university noted last September.
“Some studies suggest that dairy fat may not be as harmful as once thought, and whole milk could have no effect or even protective effects on digestive health and weight management in certain populations,” it added. “Whole milk provides protein, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamins A and D, which are important for bone health and overall nutrition.”
A study from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health published last year using data from more than 3,100 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study even found that whole-fat dairy “appeared protective against coronary artery calcification.”
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, whole milk is back – and it’s the right move for kids, for parents, and for America’s dairy farmers,” said USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. “This bipartisan solution to school meals alongside the newly released Dietary Guidelines for Americans reinforces what families already know: nutrient dense foods like whole milk are an important part of a healthy diet.”