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California’s new state budget includes funding for school kitchens that can be used to buy dairy-free milk and plant-based foods.
The budget’s language was specifically updated to allow schools to purchase plant-based options. Up to 50 million people are lactose intolerant in the US, including children and young people who need access to suitable alternatives while at school.
Read more: Kids Everywhere Need To Eat More Plant-Based Foods, Finds Study
Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature have approved the 2026 to 2027 state budget, which features USD $500 million in one-time funding for the Kitchen Infrastructure and Training (KIT) Program. The budget has now incorporated language that allows schools to purchase dairy-free and plant-based options.
This careful choice of language was championed by California Assemblymember Robert Garcia, who said, “I thank the Governor and my fellow Legislators for helping secure California students more school food options. The expanded dietary flexibility will allow students access to meals that meet their needs and a child who is not worried about hunger is a child who will be able to learn.”
‘School meals that are healthier, more inclusive, and better for the climate’
Friends of the Earth (FoEI) welcomed the budget, and highlighted the continued funding for California’s School Meals for All Program, $25 million for California’s Farm to School Incubator Grant Program, and $14 million for the Healthy School Food Pathway Program, as well as the support for plant-based and dairy-free options.
Chloë Waterman, senior program manager at Friends of the Earth, said, “California is continuing to lead the nation by investing in school meals that are healthier, more inclusive, and better for the climate. By ensuring schools can use Kitchen Infrastructure and Training funding to procure plant-based foods and nondairy beverages, this budget helps equip districts with the resources they need to expand student choice while reducing the climate impact of school meals.”
Both ProVeg International and The Plant Based Foods Association also welcomed the new budget. The Plant Based Foods Association noted that the updated language will help the state’s school districts expand access to “nutritious, inclusive meal options while taking advantage of recent federal changes allowing schools to offer nutritionally equivalent plant-based milk options in school meals.”
ProVeg International said, “The investment builds on real progress: under California’s previous school food programme, 158 school districts expanded plant-based options, nearly doubling the share of plant-based entrées on offer.”
Read more: ‘Obsession’ Actor Makes His Own Organic Plant-Based Milk
The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act and plant-based alternatives
In January, an amended version of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 was enacted to allow participating schools from the National School Lunch Program to offer nutritionally equivalent plant-based food and beverages as standard.
The US Senate unanimously voted in favor of the update in December last year, just two months after an opinion poll found that 67 percent of Americans believe public schools should make plant-based options more readily available to students.
At the start of July, a new study found that children are not eating enough nutritious, sustainable, plant-based foods, and that in high-income countries, such as the US, children tend to consume fewer and fewer healthy plant foods as they grow older.
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