New Proposed School Lunch Guidelines Keep Flavored Milk

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed new school lunch guidelines that will keep flavored milks, but lowers added sugars and sodium in prepackaged foods like muffins.

The decision to allow flavored milks was a result of what kids will actually drink, with school meal administrators noting that kids won’t drink unflavored or skim milks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack elaborates: “Establishing these standards are difficult because you have to follow the science, you have to follow the dietary guidelines, but you also have to understand that they need to be implemented in the real world, which is tough.” He noted that skim and unflavored milks are “not what they get at home. We want to encourage kids to drink milk because there are there’s tremendous nutritional value in milk.”

Over 15.3 million American kids eat school breakfasts and 29.6 million eat a school lunch daily via the National School Lunch Program. 

Discussion Questions

1. Should schools provide flavored milks in school lunches? Why or why not?

2. What improvements would you make to the school lunch program? Explain your answer(s).

3. Should humans consume dairy milk? Explain your answer(s).

Source

Jen Christensen, “Proposed Changes to School Lunches Aim to Reduce Sugar and Sodium, but Flavored Milk Stays,” cnn.com, Feb. 3, 2023