Trump Just Changed What 30 Million Kids Can Drink at School Cafeterias

President Donald Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 into law on January 14, overturning a 2012 Obama administration policy that restricted higher-fat milk in school cafeterias. The legislation directs schools to offer children multiple milk options, including whole milk, reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free, and lactose-free varieties in both flavored and unflavored forms, as well as nondairy alternatives meeting equivalent nutritional standards. Whole milk has a fat content of 3.25 percent, while reduced-fat milk contains approximately 2 percent fat.

As he signed the bill at the White House, Trump said, “Whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, whole milk is a great thing.” The bipartisan legislation was passed Congress last fall, and the Department of Agriculture announced it would rewrite Child Nutrition Programs to align with updated guidelines and begin implementing the policy with school nutrition officials immediately. The change comes days after the release of the 2025 to 2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The law will impact nearly 30 million students in approximately 94,000 elementary and secondary schools nationwide through the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. The 2012 Obama policy limited milk options to skim and low-fat varieties in hopes of lowering childhood obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five Americans aged 2 to 19 is obese.

Kennedy Says Reduced-Fat Milk Led Children to Less Healthy Alternatives

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has advocated reducing the consumption of processed food. while opting for whole foods as part of his Make America Healthy Again initiative. Kennedy previously stated that children avoided reduced-fat milk, opting instead for unhealthy alternatives like sodas and energy drinks. He argued this created “a whole generation, 15 years, of children who were not getting vital nutrients,” including calcium, whole fats, and vitamin D.

Bringing whole milk back to schools appeared in a leaked draft of the second Make America Healthy Again report, which noted the administration sought to “remove restrictions on whole milk sales in schools, allowing districts to offer full-fat dairy options alongside reduced-fat alternatives.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture shared a post on social media last week featuring a photo of Trump with a milk mustache and the caption “The Milk Mustache Is Back.”

The 2025 to 2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend consumption of whole milk for children and advise consuming healthy fats from sources including meat, poultry, eggs, fatty fish, nuts, seeds, full-fat dairy products, olives, and avocados. However, the guidelines specify that overall saturated fat consumption should not exceed 10 percent of total daily calories, establishing limits even as full-fat options return to school menus.

New Law Sets Nutritional Standards and Exempts Milk Fat from Saturated Fat Limits

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act requires that milk beverages meet nutritional standards established by the health secretary, including matching cow’s milk levels of calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin D. The act specifies that milk fat in any fluid milk “shall not be considered saturated fat for purposes of measuring compliance with the allowable average saturated fat content of a meal,” exempting dairy fat from these calculations in school meal guidelines.

The legislation requires schools to provide multiple options, including whole milk, 2 percent, 1 percent, and lactose-free milk, ensuring families can choose based on their preferences and dietary needs. Schools may also serve nondairy options that meet nutritional standard requirements if parents provide documentation of dietary restrictions. Adam Lock, a professor in the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University, told Newsweek that all dairy milks provide 13 essential nutrients.

Lock noted that whole, reduced-fat, and fat-free milk all deliver high-quality protein, calcium, vitamins A and D, B12, iodine, and potassium. He stated that whole milk also provides energy and fat-soluble vitamins that can support growth, brain development, and satiety in children within a balanced diet. “In my opinion, few foods deliver more nutritional value per calorie than milk,” Lock told Newsweek, emphasizing milk’s role as a nutrient-dense option for growing children.

Health Experts Debate Long-Term Cardiovascular and Metabolic Effects

Registered dietitian Maya Feller, who has worked with Wellness in the Schools, a nonprofit promoting healthy eating for public school students, called the law “an interesting move” but told ABC News more comprehensive meal reform is needed, focusing on nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods. “It’s good for children to have options, and for many, this may increase the likelihood that they will drink milk, which is a nutrient-dense option,” Feller said.

Feller explained that the fat in whole milk helps make fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K more bioavailable in the body when consumed together. Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University, told Newsweek that if consumption is limited to one serving per day, the change will likely make little difference. However, he warned that in the long term, higher consumption of full-fat milk is likely to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food is Medicine Institute and professor at Tufts University, offered a contrasting view, telling Newsweek there is meaningful evidence that whole-fat dairy is better for body weight and body composition than low-fat dairy in young children. He noted that adults who consume more whole-fat dairy and foods high in dairy fat, like cheese, have a lower risk of diabetes. “Switching to whole-fat milk and yogurt without added sugars will be a terrific update,” Mozaffarian said.