H.R. 649 · Where this bill is now
Waiting for a House vote
Approved by committee Jun 5, 2025; no House vote yet
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summarySchools can now offer whole milk at lunch
Right now, schools in the National School Lunch Program can only serve fat-free or low-fat milk. This bill changes that to let schools offer whole milk, reduced-fat milk, low-fat milk, and fat-free milk in both flavored and unflavored varieties. It also excludes milk from certain nutrition calculations schools have to follow, and prevents schools from serving milk produced by Chinese state-owned enterprises.
How it affects you
If you have kids in school lunch programs, they'll have more milk options to choose from. Parents can now provide a written statement (not just doctors) if their child needs a milk substitute due to a disability. Schools gain more flexibility in how they meet nutrition rules, though it doesn't change what other foods they serve.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Jan 23, 2025)
Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025
This bill revises requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Currently, schools participating in the program must provide milk that is consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans; USDA regulations require milk to be fat-free or low-fat and allow milk to be flavored or unflavored. The bill modifies these restrictions and instead permits schools to offer students whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free flavored and unflavored milk. The milk that is offered may be organic or nonorganic. Further, USDA may not prohibit a participating school from offering students any of these milk choices.
Further, schools currently must provide a substitute for fluid milk, on receipt of a written statement from a licensed physician, for students whose disability restricts their diet. Under the bill, a parent or legal guardian may also provide the written statement.
In addition, schools currently participating in the program must provide meals that meet certain nutrition requirements; USDA regulations require that the average saturated fat content of the meals offered must be less than 10% of the total calories. Under the bill, fluid milk is excluded from the saturated fat content calculation; milk fat included in any fluid milk provided by the program must not be considered saturated fat for the purposes of measuring compliance with USDA regulations.
Finally, the bill prohibits schools participating in the program from purchasing or offering milk produced by Chinese state-owned enterprises.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 649
A BILL
Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025
Sponsor: Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15) · Introduced Jan 23, 2025 · Agriculture and Food · 2 versions of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jun 5, 2025: “Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 111.”