US Senate Unanimously Votes To Give School Kids Access To Plant-Based Milk

The US Senate just passed a bill that gives children access to plant-based milk in school.

The bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 was amended following a joint campaign from dairy-free advocacy group Switch4Good and Animal Wellness Action.

According to the Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA), the US Senate voted to “unanimously” pass the amended Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which now includes provisions to increase young people’s access to non-dairy milk options in schools.

“We applaud Congress for advancing improvements to the National School Lunch Program that will expand students’ access to plant-based milks while also cutting down on taxpayer waste,” said Marjorie Mulhall, senior director of policy at PBFA.

The National School Lunch Program serves approximately 30 million students per year, but the law currently only guarantees children a dairy substitute if specifically requested with a doctor’s note. Schools are also prohibited from proactively offering alternatives.

The updated legislation will allow schools to make nutritionally equivalent plant-based options available as standard, and mean that parents can write notes on their children’s dietary requirements themselves without having to go through a healthcare provider.

In a statement sent to Plant Based News (PBN) earlier this year, Switch4Good founder Dotsie Bausch described the amendments as the result of “three-and-a-half years of fighting tooth and nail to overturn the 80-year-old cow’s milk mandate in our nation’s public schools.”

‘Students deserve choices’

Photo shows a selection of small milk cartons in a chest refrigerator — Adobe Stock US public schools will now be able to provide nutritionally equivalent plant-based options as standard

Approximately 50 million Americans are lactose intolerant, including children, and in 2019, the USDA found that nearly 30 percent of school milk cartons are thrown away untouched.

“Students deserve choices at school that reflect the way families eat today,” said Sanah Baig, executive director of the Plant Based Foods Institute. “This legislation respects parents’ choices, provides kids with more options, and strengthens American agriculture.”

With the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act now approved by the Senate, it will now go to President Donald Trump. If approved, it will officially become law.

“By allowing schools to offer nutritionally equivalent plant-based milks alongside dairy milk, the Senate is unlocking new markets for American farmers that grow soy, nuts, peas, oats, and other nutritious crops used to make these products,” said Baig.