School lunch rules now allow whole milk and exempt its saturated fat.

What it does

The bill lets schools serve whole milk alongside lower-fat milk options. Saturated fat from whole milk no longer counts toward meal limits. Schools must train cafeteria workers about food allergies. The bill was signed into law.

Who it affects

Schools can now offer whole milk to students. Families have more milk choices at lunch. Cafeteria workers get training on food allergies.

One thing to notice

Saturated fat from whole milk does not count toward limits. But saturated fat from meat, cheese, and oils still does. Schools without nondairy drinks cannot use the exemption. Food-allergy training is required but no funding is provided.

From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.

Where it stands

16 cosponsors: 10 Republicans, 5 Democrats, 1 Independents.

• Jan 23, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Jan 23, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry”
• Apr 1, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 119-55”
• Jun 3, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of…”
• Nov 20, 2025 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S8259-8261; text: CR S8261)”
• Dec 15, 2025 — Passed both chambers · Congress.gov: “On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote”
• Dec 15, 2025 — Floor vote scheduled · Congress.gov: “Mr. Thompson (PA) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill”
• Jan 6, 2026 — Sent to president · Congress.gov: “Presented to President”
• Jan 14, 2026 — Signed into law · Congress.gov: “Became Public Law No: 119-69”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

13 groups reported lobbying about this bill. They filed 20 reports from Dec 2025 to Jun 2026.

Those reports show $3,090,805 in lobbying spending. Each report lists about 14 bills. So that money was not all for this bill.

More groups named this bill than 94% of bills with any report.

Roger Marshall, who sponsored the bill, received $1,691,891 from PACs for the 2026 election.

• American Farm Bureau Fed — $720,409 in 3 reports
• International Dairy Foods Association — $540,000 in 2 reports
• National Milk Producers Federation — $518,009 in 2 reports
• Dairy Farmers of America Inc — $490,000 in 2 reports
• American Heart Association — $400,000 in 1 report

Lobbying is legal. These reports show who lobbied about this bill, not what changed.

Words to know

• saturated fat — A type of fat found in whole milk, meat, and cheese that can raise cholesterol.
• exempts — Allows something to not follow a rule that normally applies to other things.
• cafeteria workers — People who prepare and serve food in school lunch rooms.
• lobbying — Trying to influence lawmakers about a bill. Companies and groups pay people to do this.
• PACs — Groups that collect money and give it to candidates for office.
• sponsored — To sponsor a bill is to introduce it in Congress and put your name on it.