New school lunch rules save chocolate milk — but not everyone’s happy

Flavored milk will remain in the lunchrooms of America’s public schools, according to new Biden administration guidelines, but the food fight will continue on other fronts.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will set sugar and sodium limits on school lunches beginning in fall 2025, which should allow for chocolate and strawberry milk to remain on the menu. However, some popular cereals such as Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, and Honey Nut Cheerios won’t make the cut, and 2% and whole milk will remain banned as they have been since 2012.

“Rather than respecting the decades of work undertaken by school nutritionists and local professionals, the [USDA] still wants to push regulations that run counter to the nutritional quality that students deserve in their meals,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said. “The proof is in the pudding — though if you asked the department, it would want to regulate that out of existence too.”

Earlier this year, the House of Representatives passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act by a 330-99 vote, a bill that would restore higher fat milk to the nation’s public schools, with even a slim majority of Democrats voting in favor. However, the bill has languished in the Democratic-controlled Senate ever since.

Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), who grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm, fought hard to preserve chocolate milk from the regulations, appearing on the House floor in December with a sign reading “come and take it” below a chocolate milk carton.

Tiffany considers the new rules released Wednesday a partial win, but continues his quest to reinstate whole milk.

“While I am thankful that the USDA reversed their decision to get rid of chocolate milk in schools (for now), we should not allow rules that would limit our children’s access to delicious and nutritious products, like whole milk,” he said. “That’s why the Senate must pass the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act to ensure kids have access to the vital nutrients that whole milk provides.”

Whole milk hasn’t been allowed for more than a decade, but there previously were no limits on added sugars. The changes will be rolled out between late 2025 and 2027.

“We all share the goal of helping children reach their full potential,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said when the rules were announced. “Like teachers, classrooms, books, and computers, nutritious school meals are an essential part of the school environment, and when we raise the bar for school meals, it empowers our kids to achieve greater success inside and outside of the classroom.”

The spilled milk is part of a wider fight between the Biden administration and conservatives who accuse it of micromanaging or serving as a “nanny state” infringing on quotidian daily tasks. Related issues involve whether or not to ban gas stoves or subsidize electric vehicles.

Industry groups such as the International Dairy Foods Association and Dairy Farmers of America mostly praised the USDA’s regulations, saying that most existing brands of chocolate and strawberry milk already fall below the new limit of 10 grams of added sugar per 8-ounce serving.

IDFA took issue with sugar limits on yogurt, which it said can serve as a meat alternative, and argued that dairy fat uniquely delivers positive health outcomes that would benefit children. It pledged to back the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act before the current Congress ends at the end of this year.

Roughly 30 million schoolchildren eat school lunches on a regular basis.

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Vilsack and second gentleman Doug Emhoff visited a Michigan middle school Friday morning to taste test school meals with less sugar and salt alongside students. They emphasized finding a balance between nutrition and serving foods children actually want to eat.

“We want less sugar and less sodium but we also want the kids to eat the meals, so they have to taste good,” Emhoff said, according to the Detroit News. He added, “We are listening to families, but we also listen to the kids.”