Fetterman introduces bill to provide more flexible drink options in school lunches
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., alongside U.S. Sens. John Kennedy, R-La. and Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced the Freedom in School Cafeterias and Lunches Act to Congress on Wednesday, April 2.
The act aims to grant schools more flexibility to serve beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk for students who are lactose intolerant or may have other disabilities.
Under the National School Lunch Program, schools are required to serve milk in order to be reimbursed for the meal. Currently, for a child to receive an alternative, they need to get a note from a doctor or a parent, and even then, the school may not have an alternative available.
“We need to be doing whatever it takes to make sure our kids are fed in school,” Fetterman said. “This bipartisan bill cuts the unnecessary red tape in our nutrition assistance programs so students can access meals that work for them and their dietary needs.“
Based on documented rates of lactose intolerance among different demographic groups, approximately half of the nearly 30 million children benefiting from the school lunch program may have some degree of lactose intolerance.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 40% of milk served in schools is thrown away; 150 million gallons of milk are discarded by children each year, an estimated $400 million loss of tax dollars.
