Grassroots volunteers thankful for champion GT as bill heads back to House
By SHERRY BUNTING
Special for Farmshine
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, S. 222, by unanimous consent Nov. 20, clearing a major hurdle on the path to restore whole and 2% flavored and unflavored milk options to school cafeterias for the first time since 2012.
It now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives, where House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-Pa.) told Farmshine he expects a vote “immediately after Thanksgiving break.”
“Whole Milk for Healthy Kids has already proven it has overwhelming bipartisan support in the House,” Thompson said. “I am working with leadership to bring it under rules suspension to ensure a clean vote.”
Thompson has championed the bill through five legislative sessions since 2017, before a Senate version existed. Most recently, he partnered with Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), a pediatrician, and 118 cosponsors to advance it in the House Education Committee in May.
Thompson’s bill had previously passed the House in December 2023 by a sweeping 330-91 vote but was blocked by then–Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) for the rest of the 118th Congress. Each new two-year Congress starts fresh, so the bill restarted in the 119th (2025–26) with the Senate acting first, so House approval is needed to move it to the President.
Strong support exists within the Trump Administration as USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. both publicly support whole milk in schools. The White House MAHA Commission’s September blueprint focuses on nutrient density and aligning child nutrition policies with updated science on dietary fat, specifically calling for removal of whole milk regulatory barriers in schools.
Updated Dietary Guidelines, expected in December, could expedite the shift, as well as address similar milk fat restrictions in daycares, senior centers, and WIC, although the official rulemaking process follows before whole milk has the opportunity to reach schools, hopefully in 2026.
What’s in the bill
The Senate version retains the original requirement for a variety of fluid milk (defined as two or more fluid milk options) but now allows schools to choose whole and 2% flavored and unflavored as well as lactose-free fluid milk instead of being restricted to 1% low-fat and fat-free fluid milk. The bill also allows schools to opt for organic or nonorganic milk.
It keeps Thompson’s House language stating the school milk does not count toward saturated-fat limits for school meals. It also allows a parental note instead of the current doctor’s note for requesting a non-dairy alternative.
The Senate bill allows (but does not require) schools to offer a non-dairy beverage option in addition to, but not in place of, the required fluid milk service. This must meet specific USDA nutrition equivalence standards. Currently, only certain fortified soy beverages qualify in other USDA programs like WIC.
Lactose intolerance discussion
Before passage, senators discussed outdated statutory language referencing “disability” tied to lactose intolerance, with agreement that such decades-old wording should not stigmatize students.
The bill addresses the issue by allowing lactose-free fluid milk, higher fat levels in fluid milk, and clearer parental authority for a non-dairy alternative. With these clarifications, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) lifted the final hold on the bill so unanimous consent could proceed.
Raising a glass
With concerns resolved, whole milk took center stage, uniting both parties.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), physician, grandson of a dairy farmer, and Senate bill sponsor, raised his glass “to the most delicious, nutritious drink known to humankind,” highlighting milk’s 13 essential nutrients and the role of milk fat in vitamin absorption and keeping children fueled through their day.
“This is a slam-dunk solution,” he said, adding the legislation contributes to a brighter future for America’s children and dairy farmers.
Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a cosponsor, honored the “extraordinary contribution” of dairy farm families and noted their mounting economic pressures.
Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) called the bill “sound policy supported across the board. This is about ensuring students who can drink milk have access to whole milk.”
Ranking member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said the bipartisan bill “is good for our kids and our dairy producers — a win-win.”
‘It’s really happening’
Moments later, volunteer advocates reflected on the long road.
Grassroots Pennsylvania Dairy Advisory Committee Chairman Bernie Morrissey received the news directly from Rep. Thompson, just 30 minutes after singing How Great Thou Art at a friend’s funeral.
“My first thought was how great God is. We were told we had a 2% chance of this when we started more than a decade ago,” said Morrissey. “But we did have a chance, and things have happened not by chance. I truly believe this is a God thing.”
The 89-year-old advocate and retired agribusinessman credited “the unbelievable teamwork of volunteers” and Thompson’s persistence: “GT is our whole milk champion, and he never gave up. I’m just glad I’m still here to see it.”
Advocates also thought of Potter County dairy farmer Dale Hoffman, who passed away this fall. He had been part of Morrissey’s grassroots committee from the beginning. Recently, in June, Hoffman had repeated his familiar rallying line in a committee call:
“Kids come to tour our farm. We give them whole milk, and they ask us ‘why can’t we have this good milk at school?’ We have got to get this done. Kids need the good stuff!”
Daughter Tricia Adams, also serving on the grassroots committee, reflected with emotion. “My Dad would be over the moon right now,” she said. “I am so happy it looks like children in the future will be able to have the ‘good stuff.’”
Berks County farmer Nelson Troutman — who painted the first “Drink Whole Milk (virtually) 97% Fat Free” roundbale in 2018 — began calling fellow advocates: “Are you sitting down? It’s happening. It’s really happening.”
“When Bernie first saw my baleboard,” Troutman recalled, “he told me I needed a marketing plan. Turns out, he had one.”
As Troutman painted bales, Morrissey printed banners and yard signs and worked with other agribusinesses to place and fund more of them. The grassroots volunteers gathered over 30,000 nationwide petition signatures, testified at hearings, organized a school whole-milk trial, held a whole-milk-and-cookies briefing in Washington, met with leaders, commented on public documents, co-authored briefs, coordinated with others to grow support, spoke at farm and community events, and more.
Rise of 97 Milk
As the bales and signs got people’s attention, the 97 Milk organization (now a 501c3 nonprofit) was formed in 2019, separate from the grassroots committee’s policy advocacy, to share milk education with the community. Volunteers, funded by donations, built an ongoing presence and a broad national following through 97milk.com and social media, milk facts, a question desk, printed materials, Q&A with nutrition professionals, and community events.
Livestock nutritionist and parent Jackie Behr spearheaded the design of the 97 Milk platform after surveying parents and finding widespread questions and misconceptions about milk and dairy farming.
By 2020, volunteers from New York had extended the message in their state, and by 2024, they had formalized as Three Farmers Who Care / 97milk.com (See Nov. 21, 2025 Farmshine.)
“All the volunteers everywhere helped move this forward,” Morrissey said. “We got attention on the school milk issue that most people didn’t even know about. We stuck with it, and our train kept getting longer as more jumped on board. We can’t stop now.”
Lancaster County farmer and 97 Milk Chairman GN Hursh stressed the importance of education. “Together, we are making a difference. This is progress, but education doesn’t stop here. We have to keep it going with more volunteers,” he said.
Economic perspective
American Farm Bureau economist Danny Munch recently analyzed how whole milk in schools could influence dairy demand. (See Nov. 7 Farmshine.) He looked at varying levels of implementation. School milk is a small share of total fluid sales but one of the few areas with room to grow, according to Munch.
Even modest increases in higher-fat school milk, he explained, “can strengthen the Class I category, lift butterfat utilization, and return more value to farmers.” Whole milk “helps absorb supply where it matters most.”
Looking ahead
For the grassroots volunteers, Senate passage is a milestone, not the finish line. Even after expected House passage and the President’s signature, schools will not offer whole milk unless processors include it in bids, and processors won’t supply it unless schools request it. Bid structures and fat-level specifications may require careful navigation and bold reinforcement in how USDA writes the rules for the Act once signed into law.
Large foodservice corporations manage many school cafeterias today, further complicating the matter. The complex regulatory regime created by USDA over the past 15 years has shaped an entire corporate school food system by promising schools less cost and stress through ‘USDA compliance guarantees.’ Navigating those layers may take time, coordination, and persistence.
USDA reimbursement standards will be critical, along with equipment funding through state grants, checkoff dollars, and nonprofits, especially for schools adopting improved fluid milk service models such as bulk dispensers.
States with bold legislatures and Ag departments — like Tennessee, where statewide whole-milk-in-schools legislation was successfully passed last year as a momentum-builder — are farther ahead in preparing for this moment.
A 2024 Morning Consult survey found 94% of parents want whole or 2% milk in schools. Many also incorrectly believe their children are already getting it.
For now, grassroots volunteer advocates say the focus remains on educating the public so schools can understand, request, and serve whole fluid milk — preferably fresh, local or regional, and ice-cold.
