(WNY News Now) – ALBANY, NY – Following the recent passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act in the U.S. House, the Chairs and Ranking Members of the New York State Senate and Assembly Committees on Agriculture, in a bipartisan effort, sent a letter on Thursday urging Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Senator Gillibrand to bring the federal bill for a Senate vote. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would reinstate 2% and whole milk in schools, overturning a 2010 decision to remove these options from the National School Lunch Program under the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.
Senate Agriculture Chair Michelle Hinchey said, “The House’s approval of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids marks a major stride in our fight to bring healthy, nutritious whole milk back to school cafeterias. This first phase of approval is a positive step toward advancing a school meal change that will improve child nutrition while delivering a needed economic boost to New York dairy farmers and rural communities. We now turn to our federal representatives in the U.S. Senate to take the lead and prioritize this important bipartisan-supported legislation.”
Senator George Borrello, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said, “For generations, milk has been known as ‘nature’s most perfect food’ because it is packed with calcium and essential nutrients that promote good health, particularly for growing children. That is why it is crucial that we encourage our kids to drink milk by returning the whole and two percent milk options to school cafeterias. The federal mandate removing them from schools was a mistake that hurt our kids and our farmers, but the chance to fix it is within our reach right now. We urge the Senate to recognize the bipartisan momentum behind this initiative and advance the Whole Milk for Health Kids Act to the Senate floor for a vote.”
Assembly Agriculture Chair Donna Lupardo said, “We originally wanted this change included in the 2023 Federal Farm Bill, which is now delayed until next September. I was very happy to see this standalone measure pass in the U.S. House and hope to see the U.S. Senate take it up as well. Our focus as a group is on the health and vitality of New York’s students and dairy farmers alike. This is why we are strongly urging Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Senator Gillibrand to advance the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.”
Assemblyman Chris Tague, Ranking Member of the Assembly Agriculture Committee, said, “A bipartisan U.S. Congress recognized the importance of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, now it’s time for the U.S. Senate to follow suit. As the senior senator from New York, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has always been a friend to upstate rural agriculture, and we need his leadership now more than ever. Bringing whole and 2% milk back into schools will not only help the children grow healthy and strong, but it will also help give the rural economy and dairy industry a much-needed boost. My colleagues and I are asking that the U.S. Senate listen to the facts and bring milk back into our schools!”
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