General Information | USDA School Meal Initiative Audits | NSLP Funding | Nutritional Requirements | Commodity and Bonus Foods | Cow’s Milk in School Lunch | Vegetarian Entrées | Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

The Need for Alternatives to Cow’s Milk in the National School Lunch Program

• The National School Lunch Act requires that schools participating in the National School Lunch Program always offer cow’s milk.
• Schools generally do not offer other calcium sources, such as soymilk or calcium-fortified juices, because the USDA will not pay to make those alternatives available. Children in these programs are denied the choice to consume those healthy beverages.
• The USDA does not require children to take or drink milk, although it is encouraged for children in grades K through 8.
• Because of the widespread but incorrect belief that milk is essential for good health, local authorities will often require that elementary school children take milk. Many schools require that children do so unless they have a note from a doctor or parent.
• In high schools, the Offer Versus Serve (OVS) policy must be used in order for meals to be reimbursable. OVS requires that students are offered a minimum of five items but are only required to take three. This policy was implemented to prevent the problem of plate waste when students are forced to take food that they do not want.
• In grades K-8, schools may use OVS, but local authorities are permitted to impose further requirements. Children in grade schools are almost always pressured to take milk. Food service staff is taught again and again about the value of milk by training sessions provided by the USDA and through free “educational materials” donated by the Dairy Council.
• A problem with OVS as it stands is that while children may refuse milk, they are almost never offered a calcium-rich replacement.
• Also disturbing is the type of milk that schools are serving. A majority of schools serve whole milk as one of the milk choices. And children often choose whole milk over the lower-fat milks when it is available. One cup of whole milk has almost 9 grams of fat—6 of which are saturated fat—making up 51 percent of whole milk’s 157 calories.
• The 2004 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and National School Lunch Act eliminates the whole milk requirement in schools and allows schools the option of offering nondairy milk products to students with a parents note, as long as the nondairy milk substitutes are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk.