As the calendar flips to August, families across the country prepare to go back to school. For our family, for the first time in 11 years, we only have two children heading back to school. My oldest graduated from college this spring and is now experiencing what it’s like to work in the real world. With my middle son in college, only my youngest is left in high school, immersed in the day-to-day life of school academics, sports, and extracurricular activities. Just two years left, and then he’ll be headed to the next chapter as well.
I still remember when he started kindergarten over a decade ago. Back then, kindergarteners only went to school for half the day. Just like with my older two, I sent him to school every day with his book bag filled with pencils, a notebook, and his milk money for the day. The first twelve weeks of school went by, and I assumed he was drinking milk and eating the snack daily just like the other two did. Then one day his teacher emailed me and told me that I should start sending juice or water to school with him because he didn’t like the milk.
As a dairy farmer and as a mother who knows the nutritional benefits milk provides, this was simply unacceptable to me. I was not going to be one of those moms who carted a carton of juice into school every other week. I asked him why he didn’t like the milk at school. He told me that it was gross and tasted like water. My boys grew up on whole milk from our tank, so he had never even tasted anything else. I told him to drink the chocolate milk, and he said he didn’t like that either. A decade later, he still very rarely drinks milk at school. He does go through a gallon almost every other day at home, but he never grew to like milk at school.
He is not alone. Continued research has documented that children are much more likely to drink milk when it is higher in fat. Fuller fat milk and flavored milks have a better mouth appeal than their lower or nonfat alternatives. When forced to drink the lower fat milks that are served in school, children often will choose something else, like water or juice, or simply throw the milk away without drinking it. Since habits often form in those school-aged years, this leads to fewer students developing those lifelong milk drinking habits that are so critical to their health and development.
Benefits of Dairy Fat
In 2010, the U.S. changed its School Lunch Program guidelines, which led to a ban on fuller fat milk from the school menu in 2012. The decision was related to concerns around childhood obesity. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites that obesity in America’s youth has tripled since the late 1970s, with one in every five children considered obese. While obesity is a real issue, our nation’s leaders failed to recognize the difference between good fat and bad fat when they made the decision to move away from fuller fat milks.
Data has documented a substantial decrease in school milk sales since 2012, with one survey on 63,000 schools showing a 2-percent decline in school milk sales since the new requirements were released. Since milk still has a place on the school lunch tray, the 2-percent decrease in milk sales doesn’t even consider the amount of milk added to the tray but never consumed. Schools continue to report significant increases in discarded milk since fuller fat milks were removed.
At the same time, more and more research has come out to support the role fuller fat milks play in childhood development. In fact, several studies point to the correlation between consumption of higher fat milk during early childhood and a lower chance of being overweight or obese during early adolescence. The scientific research on both adults and children simply does not support dietary advice to limit or avoid saturated fats from milk. In many cases, the research points to a positive effect that dairy fats can have on heart health and the risk for metabolic diseases later in life.
Lifelong Habits Start in School
Studies have also shown that lifelong milk-drinking habits begin in school. Essentially, if they like drinking the milk at school, they are likely to drink milk at home and are likely to continue drinking milk as an adult. With skim milk and flavored skim milk not appealing to many students, fewer kids are building those lifelong habits that are so essential to their overall health and development.
Fortunately, efforts are underway to bring back fuller fat milk into the school cafeteria. Several years ago, USDA began allowing 1-percent flavored milk and reduced-fat milk to be served on the school lunch tray. For the past two years, leaders in Congress have been working to get whole milk back on the menu as well. Pennsylvania is fortunate to have our own Congressman GT Thompson who chairs the House Ag Committee championing this cause.
The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act has been introduced in previous sessions of Congress. But it now has more bipartisan support than ever before, having been approved by the House Education and Workforce Committee in June and having companion bills on both the House and Senate being considered. On the House side, Chairman Thompson is joined by Representative Kim Schrier who is a pediatrician to lead the effort. On the Senate side, Senator Roger Marshall, who is a medical doctor, and Senator Peter Welch are championing the bill. It has 134 co-sponsors in the House right now, with support building in the Senate.
The bill still has a long way to go, though, and we need to keep the momentum building. There are more than 12 million food-insecure children out there who need milk’s powerful package of nine essential nutrients for their health and development. As dairy advocates and advocates for our children, we can help by contacting our elected leaders to encourage them to pass the bill. If you are not sure who your elected leaders are, you can find out by going to www.usa.gov/elected-officials. Or call the Center at 717-346-0849 and we can provide that information to you.