Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 – Implementation Requirements for the National School Lunch Program

On Jan. 14, 2026, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025. This law amends Section 9(a)(2)(A) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 USC 1758(a)(2)(A)) revising requirements for milk provided through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National School Lunch Program (NSLP). This memorandum and the attachment provide guidance on implementation of the updated fluid milk requirements for school lunch as required by the new law. This amendment to the statute applies only to the NSLP. 

Please note, with the release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030, FNS is considering updates to regulations through the rulemaking process. In the interim, the NSLP must provide meals that meet current nutrition requirements.

Expanded Fluid Milk Options for School Lunch

Types of Fluid Milk

Previously, schools participating in the NSLP were required to provide milk that is consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Current USDA regulations require milk to be fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1%) and allow milk to be flavored or unflavored. Additionally, schools could only offer nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk upon request.

The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 modifies these restrictions and permits schools to offer students expanded fluid milk options. Effective immediately, schools participating in the NSLP may offer students at lunch the following fluid milk options: whole, reduced-fat (2%), low-fat (1%), and fat-free fluid milk and lactose-free fluid milk, and nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk and meet the USDA nutritional standards for fluid milk substitutes. Fluid milk may be unflavored or flavored and nonorganic or organic options.

Fluid Milk Requirements

Consistent with existing requirements, schools must offer at least two different options of fluid milk at lunch daily. Milk varieties may be unflavored or flavored, provided that unflavored milk is offered at each meal service and that flavored milk does not exceed the added sugars limit.

All milk options offered must be pasteurized and meet State and local standards for such milk. The following milk options (flavored or unflavored) meet the meal pattern requirements for fluid milk and may be offered to all students at school lunch:

• whole, reduced-fat (2%), low-fat (1%) and fat-free (skim) milk;
• lactose-free and lactose-reduced milk;
• cultured milk, such as cultured buttermilk, cultured kefir milk, and cultured acidophilus milk;
• acidified milk, such as acidified kefir milk and acidified acidophilus milk; and
• ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk.

Nondairy Beverage (Fluid Milk Substitute) Requirements

If a school food authority (SFA) chooses to offer nondairy beverages, such as fortified, plant-based milks, for example, soy milk, to all students at lunch, those milk substitutes must include, at a minimum, the nutrients listed in the table at 7 CFR 210.10(d)(2)(ii). Fluid milk substitutes must be fortified in accordance with fortification guidelines issued by the Food and Drug Administration.

Offering nondairy beverages to all students to meet the fluid milk requirement at lunch is an option, not a requirement. If an SFA chooses to offer nondairy beverages to all students, the SFA is no longer required to notify the State agency that it is serving nondairy beverages and students who request  a fluid milk substitute for a non-disability reason are no longer required to submit a written statement requesting a nutritionally equivalent fluid milk substitute. If an SFA chooses not to offer nondairy beverages to all students, the process for requesting a fluid milk substitute for a non-disability reason and reporting to the State agency is unchanged and can be found at 7 CFR 210.10(d)(2).

Dietary Specifications

SFAs participating in the NSLP must provide meals that meet certain nutrition requirements. USDA regulations require that the average saturated fat content of the meals offered in a week must be less than 10 percent of the total calories. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 modifies this requirement to exclude fluid milk only from the weekly limit for saturated fat. Therefore, effective immediately, schools may exclude the saturated fat from fluid milk only when calculating the weekly average saturated fat requirement for lunch. All other dietary specifications (including calories, sodium, and beginning July 1, 2027, added sugars) still apply to the entire reimbursable meal, and the contribution from fluid milk must be included in those calculations (see chart below).  Additionally, effective July 1, 2025, flavored milk must meet product-based specifications and may contain no more than 10 grams of added sugars per 8 fluid ounces.

Updates to Request Fluid Milk Substitutes for Disability Accommodations for School Lunch

Previously, schools, on receipt of a written statement from a state-licensed health care professional or registered dietitian, were required to provide a substitute for fluid milk for students whose disability restricts their diet. Effective immediately, a parent or legal guardian may also provide this written statement to request a fluid milk substitute at school lunch.

FNS will update regulations through the rulemaking process to reflect these statutory changes. Additional technical assistance and guidance will be provided and updated as needed. State agencies are reminded to distribute this information to program operators immediately upon release. Program operators should direct any questions regarding this memorandum to the appropriate state agency. State agencies should direct questions to the appropriate FNS regional office.

Tina Namian
Deputy Associate Administrator
Child Nutrition Programs
 

Attachment

Comparison Chart

Guidance documents lack the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by statute or incorporated into a contract. USDA may not cite, use, or rely on any guidance that is not available through their guidance portal, except to establish historical facts.