Chocolate milk is one step closer to staying in schools after yesterday. The bipartisan amendment, introduced by Tom Tiffany (WI-07), that prevents the Biden administration from banning chocolate milk from schools passed by voice vote and will be included in H.R. 4368, the Agriculture Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2024.
The amendment explicitly ensures that no funds in the act would find a rule to ban flavored milk in schools.
“This will ensure that all flavors and types of milk are available to school children,” said Representative Tiffany.
In February, the Biden administration proposed a rule that would set new nutrition standards for school meals. If implemented, the new standards proposed could limit the amount of flavored milk, such as chocolate and strawberry, in high schools, while children in elementary and middle schools would be restricted to a variety of unflavored milk.
The new rule threatened to impact roughly 30 million children participating in school meal programs.
“According to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, removing flavored milk from schools resulted in a 62 to 63 percent reduction in milk consumption by kids in kindergarten through fifth grade. As well as a 50 percent reduction in fifth and sixth grade,” noted Representative Tiffany.
Earlier this year, Rep. Tiffany introduced H.R. 3930, the Milk is Indisputably Liked by Kids (MILK) Act of 2023. The MILK Act would amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to ensure continued student access to flavored milk.
Cosponsors of Rep. Tiffany’s bipartisan chocolate milk amendment include: Reps. Andy Ogles (R-TN), Mary Miller (R-IL), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), Scott Perry (R-PA), Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), and Glenn Grothman (R-WI).
»Related: House bill introduced to keep chocolate milk in school lunches
