WASHINGTON, DC – PA U.S. Sen. John Fetterman introduced a bill granting schools more flexibility to serve beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk for students who are lactose intolerant. The National School Lunch Program requires that all children have milk on their trays for the school to be reimbursed for the meal, whether the milk is suited for them or not. Based on documented rates of lactose intolerance, about half of the nearly 30 million children benefiting from the school lunch program may have some degree of lactose intolerance. If a child wants 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. The legislation allows the school to easily serve the same dairy alternatives as other federal nutrition-assistance programs. USDA reports that 40% of the cartons of milk served in schools are thrown in the garbage unwanted and unopened. Another study found 150 million gallons of milk are discarded a year. That unacceptable level of food waste amounts to a $400 million loss of tax dollars per year.
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN