    [Senate Hearing 119-055]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                            S. Hrg. 119-055

                     LEGISLATIVE HEARING TO REVIEW S. 222,
      THE WHOLE MILK FOR HEALTHY KIDS ACT, AND IMPROVING CHILDREN'S HEALTH

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                           COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE,
                            NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                        ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                 April 1, 2025

                                   __________

                           Printed for the use of the
               Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                      Available on http://www.govinfo.gov/

                                    __________

                       U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    60-080 PDF                  WASHINGTON : 2025

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

               COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY

                        JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas, Chairman

    MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky            AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
    JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota            MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado
    JONI ERNST, Iowa                     TINA SMITH, Minnesota
    CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi        RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois
    ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas               CORY BOOKER, New Jersey
    TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama            BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico
    JAMES C. JUSTICE, West Virginia      RAPHAEL WARNOCK, Georgia
    CHARLES GRASSLEY, Iowa               PETER WELCH, Vermont
    JOHN THUNE, South Dakota             JOHN FETTERMAN, Pennsylvania
    DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                ADAM SCHIFF, California
    JERRY MORAN, Kansas                  ELISSA SLOTKIN, Michigan

                   Fitzhugh Elder IV, Majority Staff Director
                    Caleb Crosswhite, Majority Chief Counsel
                        Jessica L. Williams, Chief Clerk
                    Lauren Santabar, Minority Staff Director
                     Chu-Yuan Hwang, Minority Chief Counsel

                               C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------

                             Tuesday, April 1, 2025

                                                                       Page

    Hearing:

    Legislative Hearing to Review S. 222, The Whole Milk for Healthy
      Kids Act, and Improving Children's Health......................     1

                                  ----------

                        STATEMENTS PRESENTED BY SENATORS

    Boozman, Hon. John, U.S. Senator from the State of Arkansas......     1
    Klobuchar, Hon. Amy, U.S. Senator from the State of Minnesota....     2

                                   WITNESSES

    Stoody, Eve, Ph.D., Director, Nutrition Guidance and Analysis
      Division, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, USDA,
      Alexandria, VA.................................................     4
    Ayoob, Keith, Ed.D., Associate Professor Emeritus, Department of
      Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.....    19
    Byler, Krista, District Food Service Director/Chef, Union City
      Area School District, Spartansburg, PA.........................    21
    Dodson, Linette, Ph.D., Deputy Superintendent of School
      Nutrition, Georgia Department of Education, Carrollton, GA.....    22
    Gorman, Dan, Food Service Director, Montague Area Public and
      North Muskegon Public Schools, Montague, MI....................    24
                                  ----------

                                    APPENDIX

    Prepared Statements:
        Stoody, Eve..................................................    34
        Ayoob, Keith.................................................    38
        Byler, Krista................................................    44
        Dodson, Linette..............................................    57
        Gorman, Dan..................................................    63

    Question and Answer:
    Stoody, Eve:
        Written response to questions from Hon. John Boozman.........    72
        Written response to questions from Hon. Amy Klobuchar........    72
        Written response to questions from Hon. John Hoeven..........    73
    Ayoob, Keith:
        Written response to questions from Hon. John Hoeven..........    74
        Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......    74
        Written response to questions from Hon. Adam Schiff..........    75
    Byler, Krista:
        Written response to questions from Hon. John Hoeven..........    76
        Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......    76
        Written response to questions from Hon. John Fetterman.......    77
    Dodson, Linette:
        Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......    78
        Written response to questions from Hon. Raphael Warnock......    79
    Gorman, Dan:
        Written response to questions from Hon. Michael Bennet.......    82
        Written response to questions from Hon. Raphael Warnock......    83
        Written response to questions from Hon. John Fetterman.......    86
        Written response to questions from Hon. Adam Schiff..........    88

     LEGISLATIVE HEARING TO REVIEW S. 222, THE WHOLE MILK FOR HEALTHY KIDS
                      ACT, AND IMPROVING CHILDREN'S HEALTH

                                  ----------

                             TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2025

                                            U.S. Senate
              Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in Room
    328A, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. John Boozman,
    Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
        Present: Senators Boozman [presiding], Ernst, Marshall,
    Tuberville, Justice, Grassley, Fischer, Klobuchar, Bennet,
    Durbin, Lujan, Warnock, Welch, and Schiff.

    STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BOOZMAN, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF
     ARKANSAS, CHAIRMAN, U.S. COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION,
                              AND FORESTRY

        Chairman Boozman. Good morning and welcome. It is my
    privilege to call this hearing to order. I would like to thank
    our witnesses for taking the time out of their busy schedules
    to share your expertise and perspectives on the Whole Milk for
    Healthy Kids Act, S. 222.
        This bill, which would permit schools to offer students
    whole, reduced, low-fat, and fat-free flavored and unflavored
    milk, has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in both the House
    and Senate, including from many Members on this Committee.
        Last Congress, the House passed this legislation by an
    impressive vote of 330-99. I look forward to working with my
    colleagues on this Committee to make progress on this important
    bill in the Senate.
        We know that America is facing an obesity challenge, and
    nutrition is under a microscope. When it comes to the diet of
    children, we know there are a number of health challenges
    facing young students, including childhood obesity, access,
    evolving nutrient science, and many others. The school meal
    programs are key in addressing children's health, by providing
    nutritious, balanced meals to ensure students have the fuel
    they need to be successful in the classroom.
        School food service directors work tirelessly to meet
    nutrition standards, stay within tight budgets, and determine
    what students will actually consume. There is no point in
    commending ourselves for the nutritious value of school lunches
    if they wind up in the trash can.
        Over the years, we have seen many changes in the nutrition
    standards, across many different venues. We have discussed and
    debated requirements for whole grains, sodium, fruits,
    vegetables, and dairy, within and outside Congress. Equally
    important is the engagement from everyone working on these
    programs: State and local officials, parents, teachers, and all
    who are involved in supplying school meals.
        Today's hearing is an excellent opportunity for us to hear
    from a wide array of experts to examine the important role of
    milk in school nutrition programs. We are fortunate to have a
    representative from the Department of Agriculture, along with
    nutrition science experts, and leaders from both State-level
    and school districts with on-the-ground experience in
    implementing school meal programs. I look forward to hearing
    from our witnesses and putting their advice into action as we
    continue this work this Congress.
        I now turn to Ranking Member Klobuchar for her opening
    statement.

    STATEMENT OF HON. AMY KLOBUCHAR, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF
                               MINNESOTA

        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you very much. Thank you,
    Chairman, for holding this hearing. Thanks to our witnesses who
    have traveled to share their perspectives on child nutrition
    programs, what is working, and what we can do to improve them.
        I have long supported the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act--
    thank you, Senator Marshall--and this hearing is an important
    opportunity to underscore the importance of school nutrition
    and threats to their success. Ensuring kids have access to
    nutritious foods at school is a win-win, a win for kids, a win
    for schools, and a win for our farmers who provide healthy and
    nutritious foods.
        I will note there is kind of a perfect storm going on right
    now with the tariffs, which I oppose, these proposed tariffs,
    with input costs, with weather, which is not in our control,
    whether it floods, whether it is tornadoes, and then, of
    course, with the chaos right now with cuts and with people
    being terminated and then rehired, with avian flu. When I am
    out there--I just did a 14-county rural tour, including several
    small-town town halls with the farmers union, and I really got
    a sense of where people are coming from. They are not
    activists. They are regular farmers, ranchers, mostly small
    farmers, and it is a lot going on.
        I would just point out that as one of our witnesses today,
    Mr. Gorman, has said, the funding that we put into school meals
    is some of the best money that we spent. Not only do school
    meal programs reduce hunger and promote learning, they also
    support our local farmers and ranchers at a time when it is
    probably the very worst time I have seen in decades, to step
    away from that, because the economy is getting to be much more
    volatile than it was a few months ago. That means people are
    going to need these programs, like the SNAP program. Then you
    also have the farmers and ranchers that are getting headwinds
    at them on many different fronts.
        Over the last decade we have made significant improvements
    to child nutrition. The nutrition quality of school lunch and
    school breakfast has improved, and at the same time we have
    worked to streamline school meal programs. Community
    eligibility has been a tremendous success, eliminating
    burdensome red tape while increasing the number of schools
    offering meals. In the 2023-2024 school year, nearly 48,000
    schools, with 23.6 million students, participated. Community
    eligibility has played a key role in allowing Minnesota to
    offer meals for children. To provide meals to all kids in our
    State, Minnesota chips in State funds on top of the Federal
    reimbursements to allow every school to offer meals. As this
    Committee looks at Federal child nutrition programs we should
    ensure changes to the programs, improve them rather than take
    away nutritious foods from kids across the country.
        Unfortunately, schools, charities, and food banks across
    the country are facing a loss of these fresh, nutritious foods
    because of USDA's recent cancellation of Local Food Purchase
    Agreement and Local Food for School funds. In Minnesota, for
    example, schools will lose significant funding for local
    commodities and farmers, like one livestock operator I heard
    from, are losing critical domestic markets at the same time
    when the retaliatory tariffs, as I just noted, are costing
    farmers and ranchers greatly across global markets.
        The cancellation of additional anti-hunger funding will
    only exacerbate food insecurity. Our Federal nutrition programs
    are intended to work together, addressing hunger both in school
    and at home. I led my colleagues in demanding answers about the
    recent cut to local emergency food providers. If local
    charities and food pantries cannot meet the needs of the
    growing number of food-insecure kids, school food programs will
    be asked to do more to ensure our kids are not going hungry,
    not less.
        In the House, cuts to school meal programs through
    reconciliation are on the table. As the House Agriculture
    Committee's $230 billion cut, likely to nutrition programs like
    SNAP, would be devastating to child nutrition. SNAP is also our
    largest child nutrition program, serving 15.5 million children
    in 2022. Cuts to SNAP will also have a direct impact on school
    meals. Many kids participating in school meals actually do so
    through SNAP, so cuts to SNAP are also cuts to school meals.
    Recent proposals to cut SNAP would have kicked nearly a million
    kids off child nutrition.
        While we can continue to make improvements to our school
    nutrition programs--and I hope we will have those discussions
    in the context of a farm bill which we sorely need--we should
    not ignore the progress that we have made, and we cannot
    pretend that the cuts that are currently on the table will not
    stop that progress dead in the tracks. I hope that we can all
    agree that we should first do no harm, and then build upon what
    is working.
        With that I look very forward to hearing from the
    witnesses. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Chairman Boozman. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar.
        We will now introduce our first witness. Dr. Eve Stoody
    serves as the Director of the Nutrition Guidance and Analysis
    Division at the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
    within the Food and Nutrition Service at USDA. Dr. Stoody has
    played a key part in the development of Dietary Guidelines for
    Americans, dating back to 2010, serving in roles at both the
    USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services. She holds
    a doctorate in nutrition from Texas Woman's University.
        Again, thank you for being here this morning. Dr. Stoody,
    you are now recognized for your statement.

     STATEMENT OF EVE STOODY, Ph.D., DIRECTOR, NUTRITION GUIDANCE
        AND ANALYSIS DIVISION, CENTER FOR NUTRITION POLICY AND
                    PROMOTION, USDA, ALEXANDRIA, VA

        Dr. Stoody. Thank you, Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member
    Klobuchar, and Members of the Committee for the opportunity to
    appear before you today. It is truly an honor.
        As mentioned, I am Dr. Eve Stoody, the Director of the
    Nutrition Guidance and Analysis Division at the Center for
    Nutrition Policy and Promotion within the Food and Nutrition
    Service at USDA. I have served at USDA for over 15 years, and
    have supported the development of the Dietary Guidelines since
    the 2010 edition. In my current role I serve as a career
    subject matter expert on the Dietary Guidelines process and
    lead USDA staff in the development of the Dietary Guidelines
    with our partners at HHS.
        Evidence continues to support dairy as an important part of
    a healthy dietary pattern, and yet, for about 90 percent of the
    U.S. population, dairy intakes fall below recommendations.
    Dietary intake data has shown reductions in intake over time,
    which sets the stage for nutrient shortfalls, particularly for
    calcium and vitamin D.
        The latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines states that
    healthy dietary patterns feature dairy, including milk, yogurt,
    and cheese. The Dietary Guidelines also recommend that most
    dairy choices should be fat-free or low-fat and with no to
    little added sugars.
        Dairy recommendations have been relatively consistent in
    the Dietary Guidelines since the first edition in 1980, and
    more recent editions have evolved to include low-lactose,
    lactose-free, and soy options.
        Regarding current intakes, as I mentioned, 90 percent of
    the U.S. population does not meet dairy recommendations, and
    intakes have been declining over time. For example, in
    adolescents, dairy intake is about a half a cup lower per day
    now than it was about 20 years ago.
        We also have national data that describes how many
    Americans report drinking milk on any given day. In
    adolescents, the percent reporting drinking milk was about 75
    percent in the 1970's, just under 50 percent in the early
    2000's, and the most recent data suggests that about 35 percent
    of adolescents report drinking milk on any given day.
        USDA's school meal programs support the consumption of milk
    among children. Under current school meal nutrition standards,
    schools must offer a variety, at least two options of milk,
    with breakfast and lunch. Schools may currently offer flavored
    and unflavored low-fat, fat-free, and lactose-free milk. The
    Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 would change the
    permissible milk types that may be offered in school meals to
    include those recommended by the current Dietary Guidelines--
    fat-free and low-fat milk--to also include reduced-fat and
    whole milk.
        The bill would also exempt milk fat from the saturated fat
    limits in school meals. Currently, more than 80 percent of
    children and adolescents exceed the recommendation to limit
    saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of calories per
    day. Across the life span, efforts to increase dairy intakes
    would improve nutrient intakes and support overall health.
    Offering dairy during school meals supports consumption
    directly and can also set the stage for consuming a healthy
    dietary pattern outside of school meals.
        Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Dr. Stoody can be found on pages
    34-37 in the appendix.]
        Chairman Boozman. Thank you for your testimony. We will now
    begin with questions. Each Member will have five minutes.
        Dr. Stoody, USDA research shows that while milk consumption
    has been falling across all ages for several decades, it fell
    at almost twice the rate as the previous two decades from 2010
    to 2019. This coincides with research finding that 90 percent
    of Americans do not meet the Dietary Guidelines' recommended
    dairy consumption per day. Your testimony also notes that for
    all children, more dairy is consumed as higher fat versus fat-
    free or low-fat versions.
        Given the disconnections between the recommendations and
    consumption, what was the science used to justify removing
    whole and reduced-fat milk from schools?
        Dr. Stoody. If possible, sir, I would like to spend just a
    minute talking about what the Dietary Guidelines recommend
    overall. The Dietary Guidelines--and I am referencing the 2020
    edition of the Dietary Guidelines that was released in December
    2020--and it recommends an overall healthy diet. That diet is
    intended to have some flexibility so that it can be adapted to
    reflect person preferences and individual needs.
        This healthy dietary pattern includes dairy but also
    includes vegetables, fruits, a variety of protein foods, and
    grains, particularly whole grains.
        It is also a reality that we kind of have a number of
    calories that individuals should consume their diet within. As
    a general statement, across the Dietary Guidelines we recommend
    consuming foods from all those different food groups, and that
    most of the foods consumed should have little to no added
    sugars or saturated fat. That is not specific to the dairy
    group but more broadly to help us to stay within those calorie
    limits, just consuming less added sugars and saturated fat.
        Now, for the typical American diet, as has been noted, we
    are in a situation where most Americans do not meet the Dietary
    Guidelines. We have a lot of children and adolescents--you
    referenced the prevalence of overweight and obesity. What we
    see is that in the typical American diet we do not have a lot
    of room. We are consuming too many calories, too much saturated
    fat, too much added sugars. We do not have a lot of room in the
    diet to consume the calories and saturated fat that are found
    in higher fat dairy products. At a population level, the
    recommendation is to choose most dairy should be fat-free or
    low-fat.
        Now that does not mean within the context of a healthy diet
    dairy products with higher fat content, whether that be
    reduced-fat or whole milk, cannot be a part of a healthy
    dietary pattern. It is really important to think about that
    overall context, that overall diet that is consumed, and the
    Dietary Guidelines are intended to provide that flexibility so
    that different options can be chosen, based on needs and
    preferences.
        Chairman Boozman. Very good. Senator Klobuchar.
        Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
    Ms. Stoody, there is, of course, a lot of discussion about SNAP
    right now, in general. Could you talk about how participating
    in programs like SNAP or Medicaid--this is going to be right in
    front of us in the next few weeks--is linked to school meals?
        Dr. Stoody. I totally understand and appreciate the
    question. I am really here in my capacity to speak to subject
    matter expertise in the Dietary Guidelines. I do not have
    information related to that specific question, but we are happy
    to bring that back to FNS to provide a response.
        Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Very good. You have been a
    nutrition scientist for a long time. Can you please explain how
    school meals have improved in recent years as well as in areas
    where there is need for growth?
        Dr. Stoody. Yes. The National School Lunch Act requires
    USDA to develop school meal nutrition standards that are
    consistent with the goals of the Dietary Guidelines. Over the
    years, USDA has worked to further align school meals with the
    Dietary Guidelines, and we have seen great progress in
    improvement and nutritional quality.
        Research does show that for most children school meals are
    the healthiest meals that they consume in a day. We have this
    tool called the Health Eating Index that assesses how well a
    package of food aligns with the Dietary Guidelines. It has a
    score from 0 to 100. When we look at general consumption in the
    U.S., the HEI score in the U.S. is about a 56 out of 100,
    indicating we have a lot of room for improvement. Within school
    meals, the HEI score is between 79 and 81, which means school
    meals are more consistent with the Dietary Guidelines, and we
    have seen great improvement in various aspects of the school
    meals over time.
        Senator Klobuchar. You went over dairy and how important it
    is and how kids are not getting enough of it. Could you talk
    about the fact that dairy does provide a really important part
    in school meals, and is there evidence that school meals do
    help promote dairy, because people get exposed to drinking
    milk, kids get exposed?
        Dr. Stoody. Of course, yes. Providing dairy in the school
    setting impacts intakes directly right there, and we do have
    evidence that school meals, as I mentioned, are the healthiest
    meals that kids are consuming in a day. I can take that back to
    give more specific statistics, but we certainly do have
    evidence that offering it, providing it, does promote
    consumption.
        Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Thank you. Is USDA's position that
    fruits and vegetables are a critical part of a healthy diet?
        Dr. Stoody. Yes.
        Senator Klobuchar. Okay, good. I agree. Great. For the
    record, I want to point out that USDA's canceling the Local
    Foods Purchase Assistance are contrary to that advice. USDA's
    own data shows that 56 percent of the funds from that program
    went to buying produce, by far the largest purchase category. I
    am really concerned about that, because if we want to promote
    fruits and vegetables, that cancellation, to me, just shows the
    opposite.
        Do you want to comment at all on that?
        Dr. Stoody. I cannot comment on that directly, but we are
    happy to bring that back to the Department.
        Senator Klobuchar. Okay. I appreciate that. Last, how can
    we encourage more consumption of nutritious dairy foods like
    milk, yogurt, and cheese?
        Dr. Stoody. Offering it in school meals, incorporating it
    into programs across settings and sectors in all that we do.
    All of us have a role to play in promoting healthy choices,
    healthy outcomes, and healthy children. I think it is a broad--
    it is not just a one place. It is across settings and sectors
    where we need to make that a priority.
        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you.
        Chairman Boozman. Senator Tuberville.
        Senator Tuberville. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you,
    Doctor, for being here today. My former profession was working
    with students and kids. I traveled to hundreds and hundreds of
    high schools across the country, in all 50 States. I ate at
    lunchrooms, and the food in most of them were atrocious. In
    2010, we basically did away with milk, for some reason. I
    cannot imagine.
        I have got a new granddaughter. My daughter-in-law is
    breastfeeding. We looked at the formula that we could have been
    feeding my new granddaughter. If we want to do away with
    something, we do away with that, because it is nothing but
    sugar. We are going to look at something that is so important
    to our kids growing up and their physical attributes of growing
    up to an adult, we are looking at the possibility of milk being
    detrimental. It is mind-boggling to me, but I guess there are a
    lot more smarter people than me.
        You know, I used to have a training table for players. All
    of our athletes, and you could put milk, you could put tea, you
    put water out there, they would drink the milk--athletes. There
    is a reason that they look a lot better than a lot of our kids
    nowadays. At the end of the day we have to make a decision what
    is better. I cannot believe we are even getting involved in
    this.
        Science improves and changes over time. We know that. Our
    nutrition standards should not be what they were in 2010. They
    have to change, have to change, as nutrition science data has
    changed. Can you discuss the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory
    Committee's conclusions on dairy consumption's effect on
    children?
        Dr. Stoody. Just to clarify, just to make sure I heard you
    correctly, you were referencing the 2025 Dietary Guidelines
    Advisory Committee?
        Senator Tuberville. Yes, ma'am.
        Dr. Stoody. Thank you. The 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory
    Committee did an extensive review. They are convened as an
    external advisory committee, and the 2025 committee had 20
    members. They did an extensive review on all aspects of the
    diet, including dairy--data analysis, a number of systematic
    reviews, and food pattern modeling.
        At the end of the day they looked at a lot of new evidence.
    There is evidence that is looking at food sources of saturated
    fats, so dairy that has different amounts of saturated fat,
    these different types that are exactly the conversation today.
    They also did a number of food pattern modeling analyses, and
    what that does is looks to what happens if you change the
    amount of dairy in a pattern.
        At the end of the day, they found that you cannot reduce
    the amount of dairy in a dietary pattern, that the amount that
    is recommended still holds, and that is in large part because
    of all the nutrients that dairy provides. It is a good source,
    and the major source of calcium, vitamin D, and about a dozen
    other nutrients in the diet.
        At the end of the day, their recommendations to the
    Departments, and I will note that is advice to the Departments
    for informing the next edition of the Dietary Guidelines, their
    advice was to maintain the current guidance.
        Now, we are at a point, and Secretaries Rollins and Kennedy
    have acknowledged their commitment to supporting the
    development of the Dietary Guidelines to be released later this
    year, and they have also discussed doing a line-by-line review
    of the Committee's report and basing the next edition of the
    Dietary Guidelines on science.
        I expect there will be a lot more discussion related to the
    topic of dairy as well as other aspects of the diet. At the end
    of the day, I think the 2025 Committee continued to emphasize
    the importance of dairy in a healthy dietary pattern.
        Senator Tuberville. At the end of the day, do not you agree
    that any milk--2 percent, whole milk--is much better for our
    kids growing up than soda?
        Dr. Stoody. Yes. I think the point of the Dietary
    Guidelines is that there is flexibility. There are a number of
    different options within the dairy food group, and whether that
    be fat-free, low-fat, reduced-fat, whole milk, it is important
    to make selections that are right, that support individual
    needs and preferences, and in that context of the larger
    dietary pattern.
        Senator Tuberville. Thank you.
        Senator Klobuchar. [Presiding.] Senator Bennet.
        Senator Bennet. Thank you very much, Senator Klobuchar, our
    Ranking Member, and thanks to all of you for having this
    hearing. Thank you for your testimony today. Before I came to
    the Senate I was the Superintendent of Schools in Denver, as
    you may know, and in that job learned firsthand how important
    access to nutrition is through school meals and other USDA
    programs, how they directly affect our kids' ability to learn,
    for all the reasons the Senator from Alabama was talking about.
        Expanding access to nutrition programs and improving those
    programs is critical, not just for our kids but for people of
    all ages. It is why yesterday I filed the Hot Foods Act again
    to cut red tape in SNAP and to help working families, single
    parents, people with disabilities, and seniors put nutritious
    meals on the table. I look forward to hearing your thoughts
    about that as the legislation develops, to see how we can
    improve our program access, strengthen child nutrition, and
    make sure that we are knocking down barriers to accessing food.
        The Chairman is not here, but he and I have worked for a
    long time together to make sure that the school calendar does
    not affect that, and that there is the opportunity for kids to
    be able to get the food no matter where they are, and do it
    during the summer, as well as when school is in session, which
    is so important.
        I want to thank you, Dr. Stoody, for your testimony and for
    your work at USDA. During the 2023-2024 school year, schools
    across Colorado served approximately 184,000 breakfasts and
    over 435,000 lunches daily, underscoring the significant role
    these programs play. Programs like SNAP and meal service
    options like the Community Eligibility Provision work in tandem
    to help ensure students can have access to these meals, as I
    was saying. SNAP supports families to help meet their
    nutritional needs and helps ensure that more children have
    consistent access to healthy food options, including at school.
    CEP leverages SNAP, as you know, to allow eligible schools to
    offer free breakfast and lunch to all students.
        I come to my question. Providing free breakfast and lunch
    to all students has been proven to increase access to
    nutritional meals, make sure that kids eat those nutritious
    meals. It cuts red tape for families. What implications would
    losing access to meals do to changes in SNAP or the Community
    Eligibility Provision have on our ability to meet these
    nutritional goals, would you say?
        Dr. Stoody. Yes, thank you for that question. I appreciate
    your discussion around the broad range of programs. Again, I am
    here in my capacity related to the Dietary Guidelines. FNS does
    offer the programs that you reference, and we are happy to take
    that back and provide a response related to the broader program
    implementation.
        Senator Bennet. Well, could you talk a little bit more
    about--I mean, what is the importance to our national
    commitment to kids being able to get the nutrition that they
    need?
        Dr. Stoody. Yes, I think we all agree that it is important
    for children, adolescents, adults to eat healthy foods and to
    improve health. I think there is definitely a commitment, an
    important aspect to promoting healthy consumption in kids.
        Senator Bennet. All right. I have got one other question,
    but I will submit it for the record. Thank you very much for
    being here.
        Senator Klobuchar. Senator Grassley.
        Senator Grassley. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. Dr. Stoody,
    thank you for your testimony. You spoke recently in your
    testimony about the decline of dairy consumption. The Dietary
    Guidelines for Americans has limited the option of milk offered
    in schools. Now for years, in the most recent guidelines,
    higher-fat milk was cited to have favorable growth in body
    composition while reducing childhood obesity. The more
    restrictive school lunches are, the higher childhood obesity
    rates have become.
        My first question to you, during your years at USDA there
    has been a decrease in milk consumption. Do you think that that
    decline has had a positive effect on children's health?
        Dr. Stoody. No. Obviously, we want to promote the
    consumption of a diet that aligns with the Dietary Guidelines,
    and that is across the board, all the different food groups,
    including dairy. It is of great concern, I think, that
    consumption has been declining. I think these conversations are
    very important on how to promote healthier consumption. No, it
    is obviously of great concern that dietary consumption has
    worsened over time, and we are seeing that increased prevalence
    of overweight and obesity, increased prevalence of pre diabetes
    in children and adolescents.
        Senator Grassley. Then, last, do you think that continuing
    to restrict full-fat milk options will change the decline in
    milk consumption?
        Dr. Stoody. I do not have data to speak to. As has been
    mentioned in the written testimony, we do acknowledge there is
    data from our colleagues at USDA's Agricultural Research
    Service that speaks to the most commonly consumed forms of
    dairy. We do see that reduced-fat milk is the most commonly
    consumed, followed by whole milk, then low-fat, then skim milk.
    Across all types of milk, consumption is too low.
        The good thing about dairy, I think, is that there are a
    variety of options to fit different needs and preferences, and
    whatever that option is that is right for the individual child,
    whatever that option is, we need to work to improve current
    consumptions.
        Senator Grassley. Mr. Chairman, I will yield back my time.
        Senator Klobuchar. Very good. Senator Durbin is up next.
        Senator Durbin. Thanks, Senator Klobuchar. I took an
    interest in school lunches and started looking in my State at
    what the kids are eating. I went to Roberto Clementi High
    School in Chicago, an inner-city school, largely African
    American and Hispanic, and I asked them, ``What do the kids eat
    for breakfast?'' They said, ``Oh, the most popular breakfast
    here are a bag of Flaming Hots and a pop, an orange pop.'' That
    would be what they pick up at the store on the way to school.
        I also went to Westinghouse High School, which is on the
    west side, and a beautiful school, and asked to sit down with
    school lunch. They did not particularly want me to do that but
    I did anyway. The menu that day featured corn dogs, which is,
    we believe, the source of all life in the Midwest----
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Durbin [continuing]. pizza, and for vegetables,
    french fries. That was the lunch.
        I also have paid close attention, as I hope my colleagues
    have, of the trash cans in the lunchroom and what is being
    thrown away by the students. It is entirely too damn much food
    being thrown away, to start with. I often wondered, we can give
    speeches and do our analysis in Washington, but the bottom line
    is what will those kids eat during the course of a school
    lunch. Bottom line.
        I look at this controversy, and I suppose it is a
    controversy as to whether whole milk should be allowed,
    required in school lunch. Your background, I take it, is in
    nutrition. You are referred to as Doctor, as I saw. Is that
    correct, the Ph.D.?
        Dr. Stoody. Yes, sir.
        Senator Durbin. Good. I am sure you are qualified. I am
    also sure that we are always asking the question when it comes
    to nutrition: too much fat, too much sugar, too much sodium.
    Aren't those the three things we kind of boil the conversation
    down to?
        Dr. Stoody. Yes. Those are key components that we look at.
        Senator Durbin. Let me ask you a question. I know where
    Senator Marshall is coming from. He is the original milkman in
    the Senate Agriculture Committee, and proud of it. I just have
    to ask this. I look at the groups that oppose this bill, and
    they include the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, American
    Academy of Pediatrics, the American Heart Association, the
    American Public Health Association, the Center for Science in
    the Public Interest, the National Association of Pediatric
    Nurse Practitioners, National WIC Association. Do you know any
    major health groups that support this bill?
        Dr. Stoody. I do not have information to that regard.
        Senator Durbin. Okay. I would be interested in that.
        Has any survey been done about kids, whether they will
    accept two percent milk the same as whole milk, or if they have
    a preference for skim milk or whole milk or two percent?
        Dr. Stoody. We do not have data on preference directly,
    just data on what is currently consumed. The most commonly
    consumed is two percent, followed by whole, then low-fat and
    fat-free. We do have data that across the board current
    consumptions need to increase. Whatever the form is, we need to
    have greater consumption of dairy.
        Senator Durbin. Did you use the figure 35 percent
    consumption for a certain group of teenagers, I guess it is?
        Dr. Stoody. Using the most recent data, about 35 percent of
    adolescents consume fluid milk on any given day.
        Senator Durbin. I will tell you, I am just amazed it is
    that high. I really am. When you consider all the advertising
    for all the pop and soda and sweet drinks that these kids are
    exposed to during the course of their lives, and the
    advertising for milk is virtually zero, as I see it. I think we
    need much more milk consumption. Moving in the direction of
    those soda and pop drinks, it certainly cannot be good for
    kids, for their teeth or their health.
        Thank you. I yield.
        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Senator Durbin.
    Senator Marshall.
        Senator Marshall. Well, thank you, Ranking Member
    Klobuchar, and thank you, Senator Boozman, for allowing us to
    have this. If you could just spare me a moment here, I have got
    to clear my throat a little bit.
        [Pause.]
        Senator Marshall. There. I can speak better now.
        You know, we all came to Congress with a reason, and I sat
    down on my first day and had a list of 10 things I wanted to do
    when I got here--you know, save the world, save Medicare, save
    Medicaid, balance the budget, and get whole milk back in
    school. This is a great day for us to have a hearing on this,
    and I do appreciate the Members of the Agriculture Committee
    coming here and having this discussion, as well.
        I think about whole milk growing up, where my grandparents
    delivered milk to us two or three times a week, and it was just
    part of our diet, part of a healthy diet, and how important
    whole milk is. You think about the MAHA movement--the Make
    America Healthy Again movement--it is about whole foods, and I
    think we could characterize whole milk as part of that MAHA
    movement, as well. I think about the fat-soluble vitamins,
    which are so important, that we have to have some fat in our
    body to absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K.
        Maybe we will just talk about, you know, there are bad
    fats, there are good fats, and ask Dr. Stoody a little bit
    about, what are the good fats? What are the good things in
    whole milk that separate it from the one percent and the lesser
    fat parts of milk?
        Dr. Stoody. First I do want to note the Dietary Guidelines
    do not say that whole milk is a bad food to consume. It does
    say that, in general, considering what current consumptions are
    in the U.S., considering current health status of children and
    adolescents, generally most children should increase
    consumption, and probably the best way to do that is through
    lower-fat options.
        For those who eat a healthy diet, for those who are active,
    as you mentioned athletes, whole milk can be a great option. It
    really is thinking about the overall context of the diet rather
    than kind of saying one food is good or bad. Dairy is a healthy
    choice, but it really matters what you are eating with that
    dairy.
        Senator Marshall. Well, I mean, just talk a little bit more
    about healthy fats. Some of the good things about these healthy
    fats is it helps with hormone production, so think about
    adolescents going through puberty, those types of things. There
    are good fats that help with that hormone production. Also I
    think there are good studies that show that healthy fats also
    decrease your appetite for later, that it has some satiety
    impact. Would you agree or expand on those thoughts?
        Dr. Stoody. I am aware of that research. We have not
    addressed it directly in the Dietary Guidelines, but I am aware
    of the research that you are referencing. Yes.
        Senator Marshall. Then you also agree with me that whole
    milk has small amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which support
    brain health, and inflammation it controls, as well.
        Dr. Stoody. Yes. The Dietary Guidelines actually recommend,
    for those one to two years of age, that plain whole milk be the
    type of dairy that is consumed, because of the importance of
    whole milk to supporting brain development. Then after that
    point, the recommendation is to move toward lower fat. There is
    a bit of an evidence gap as to exactly when that transition to
    lower-fat options might be most beneficial, but there are
    definitely benefits of plain whole milk, particularly in young
    children, to supporting brain development.
        Senator Marshall. Association does not necessarily
    determine cause, but I think as we saw whole milk come off of
    the school lunch menus we also saw consumption of milk come
    down consistently. Senator Durbin makes a good point about it
    has to taste good. I do not know that I am aware of any good
    studies either proving my point. Certainly it seems to me that
    whole milk tastes a whole lot better, and that we have seen
    milk consumption go down when whole milk was taken out of the
    school lunches. Would that be accurate?
        Dr. Stoody. I do not have data for specifically school
    meals and what has happened since, for example, the 2010, 2012,
    when it moved toward just low-fat and fat-free. We do see that,
    as you mentioned, at the national level. We see that milk
    consumption really--you know, drinking fluid milk started to
    decline in the early 2000's, and it has continued to decline. I
    think it is very concerning that current consumption in
    adolescents is about half a cup lower per day than it was two
    decades ago.
        Senator Marshall. Great. I want to make one more point. I
    was going to save this question for one of the other witnesses
    but I still want to make the point about my concern about
    osteoporosis and osteopenia, that bone mass density peaks
    around age 28. What we are seeing now is a generation of people
    reaching that age that did not drink milk, and their bone mass,
    bone density is down a standard deviation. Maybe it is more
    than that.
        While today most women start developing osteopenia--and
    when you reach that peak bone mass at age 28, the rest of our
    life, that aging process starts. It is really hard to build
    bone mass beyond that. We are going to have women develop
    osteopenia, osteoporosis a decade sooner, and we are going to
    see men suddenly also have osteopenia, as well.
        One thing I cannot believe I forgot to do was to thank
    Senator Welch for his leadership in this, on this bill,
    Senators Fetterman, Gillibrand, Slotkin, King, McCormick,
    Grassley, Hyde-Smith, Risch, Crapo, Ernst, and Collins for
    helping to support this, as well. Senator Welch, just basically
    thank you for your leadership. Vermont is known as a great milk
    State.
        We will have to come back later to catch the thoughts on
    osteopenia and osteoporosis. I am way past my time. Thank you,
    Ranking Member.
        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
    Then next up, well, we have two Senators who have a lot of cows
    in their State. Even though Vermont may be most identified with
    it, I think Senator Schiff was here first. Senator Schiff.
        Senator Schiff. Thank you, Chairman and Ranking Member.
    Thanks for holding this hearing today, and Dr. Stoody, thank
    you for being here. It is nice, as an Adam, to be in the
    presence of another Eve. My wife is Eve also, by the way.
        Before we get to questions about the bill, as we speak, my
    colleagues on the other side of the aisle are drafting a bill
    that would eliminate school meal programs for millions of kids.
    That bill may come into the Senate as soon as this week. The
    bill that is the prime focus of this hearing deserves
    attention, but I do not see how we can discuss children's
    health and nutrition without acknowledging the important role
    of Federally funded school meal programs that are literally a
    lifeline for so many kids. I asked some of the school districts
    in California to send me their experiences, and let me just
    read one that highlights the importance of our support for
    school meal programs.
        ``I was in the cafeteria and a second-grade class was
    boarding the bus for a field trip. The teacher had told all the
    students to bring your lunch because we will not be able to go
    to the cafeteria today, figuring everyone had food at home, at
    this school on the right side of town. Lucy came to the
    cafeteria at 9:30, as they were boarding the bus, to ask for
    something to drink because daddy did not have anything to drink
    at home. When we checked what Lucy did have, she had a small
    bag of Fritos and two pieces of leftover Halloween candy. I
    asked Lucy where her lunch was, and she looked at the ground
    and said, `The teacher said we won't be back in time for lunch
    and this is all we have at home.' Lucy relies on school lunch,
    even on the good side of town, even when no one realizes she
    does. Children suffer in silence, even on the good side of town
    in the middle of affluence. I seriously cry every time I tell
    this story and think of her face.''
        That is a good illustration of what will be at stake on the
    floor this week with proposals to make massive cuts to the
    school meal programs.
        Let me turn to the question I have about this bill, and my
    question revolves around the absence of any alternative that
    involves non-dairy alternatives in the bill. In California and
    many States represented by Members of the Committee, there are
    millions of students who are lactose intolerant or have adverse
    reactions to dairy. Lactose-free milk is not always a good
    option because of their cost to schools and because some kids
    cannot drink milk due to sensitivity to milk proteins. Some
    kids simply want a non-dairy option. At the same time,
    requiring a formal written note for an alternative due to
    inability to drink milk is an unnecessary bit of red tape for
    students and parents.
        If this bill is about giving children access to nutritious
    options, would it improve health outcomes as well as parent and
    student sense of choice, to have easy access to non-dairy
    alternatives for kids?
        Dr. Stoody. Thank you for that question. I can speak first
    to the Dietary Guidelines and what it recommends related to
    what is included within the dairy food group. The dairy food
    group within the Dietary Guidelines does include a variety of
    different cow milk options, and it also includes soy milk and
    soy yogurt as alternatives. I say alternatives but they are
    literally within the food group.
        I think that your question about their uses within school
    meals might be a great question for the next panel. I know we
    also have data on that within FNS. I can say within the Dietary
    Guidelines themselves soy milk is provided as within the dairy
    group, and it can certainly be a healthy way to meet dairy
    recommendations.
        Senator Schiff. Well, along those lines, do you see any
    reason for authorizing schools to offer whole milk on the lunch
    line but not fortified soy milk, from a nutritional point of
    view?
        Dr. Stoody. From a nutritional point of view, cow's milk
    and soy milk are included in the same group and provide very
    similar nutrient compositions.
        Senator Schiff. Okay. Thank you. This is not a denigration
    of the bill, which I supported in the House, but it is a call
    to include non-dairy alternatives, as well. With that I yield
    back.
        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Senator Schiff.
    Senator Justice.
        Senator Justice. Thank you so much. Let me just say a few
    things about the State of West Virginia. Just think about this
    just for a second. I am a coach. I am with the kids all the
    time, and I have been that way forever more. Probably that is
    why I have got all this white hair. I am really only 46 years
    old.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Justice. When you have coached as many games as I
    have coached, and I have coached 1,300-some games, and with all
    that being said, you get white hair pretty easily. You get
    white hair a lot easier if you just absolutely are there with
    the kids and you see what they are going through.
        You know, if you think in West Virginia one out of every
    five kids faces food insecurity every single day, it is sad
    beyond belief. You know, when I was the Governor in West
    Virginia we made a real priority to try to some way, somehow,
    do something about hunger, do something about our food banks.
    We have an opportunity here to do something that is so
    precious, it is off the chart.
        It is unusual that the first lady of West Virginia, when I
    was the Governor--and my wife Cathy is with me today--she did
    something that is off the chart. She did something with
    communities and school that was absolutely directed right at
    helping kids that were in real need.
        Now just think about it. We are absolutely looking at the
    possibility of whole milk and how much meaningfulness that
    whole milk could bring to our children. Absolutely, many of our
    kids in our schools in West Virginia, these are the primary
    meals of their whole day. That is all there is to it.
    Absolutely, if we cannot step up and do the right thing for
    nutrition for our children, and God knows there are many, many,
    many things that our kids are putting in their bodies that they
    should not be putting in. That is all there is to it. One of
    those things is not whole milk, in my opinion.
        With all that being said, also, being a coach, and not just
    athletes. I want you to pay really close attention to just
    this: kids want good stuff to eat today. You may think that
    kids just want junk to eat today. You know, in all honestly,
    imagine this. Imagine having a kid that is a high school kid
    that is playing on your basketball team that has never eaten a
    candy bar in his life. You know, it is really true.
        With all that being said, I am telling you, you have the
    attention of our children today. Our kids want to do better.
    They really do. We have an opportunity to step up. That is
    exactly what we should be doing. We should be trying, in every
    possible way we possibly can, to make our kids healthier, to
    absolutely give them the nutrition that they need, and I am
    absolutely, wholeheartedly, and not as a pun, but I am
    wholeheartedly in favor of moving forward with whole milk.
        With all that being said, I defer my remaining time to our
    Madam Chairman.
        Senator Klobuchar. Very good. Thank you. I know you have
    also been joined by your wife Cathy, so we welcome her, as
    well. Next up is Senator Welch.
        Senator Welch. Senator Justice--is it----
        Senator Klobuchar. Senator Lujan is next. I am sorry. He
    was here earlier. Are you sure? Okay. Thanks.
        Senator Welch. Well, I was just going to say, you spoke for
    me. I really appreciated that. Also I notice my colleague from
    Kansas is usually low key and rarely shows off, except in
    service of milk. I appreciate you doing that.
        You know, what you said, Senator Justice, is so absolutely
    true, and one in five, you used the word ``food insecurity,''
    that is what we are talking about, it is downright hungry. Kids
    are hungry. They show up and they are hungry, and it is through
    no fault of their own.
        I do not know where things got off the rails, because I
    have such a vivid memory as a boy, looking forward to Roger's
    box of milk when I got to school. We all did, and it got us
    through the morning. Sometimes it was chocolate, which I guess
    we are not advocating for here, but I sneak a little of that
    every once in a while, whole milk, chocolate.
        It is really reassuring to me that we are taking up this
    bill about whole milk, because it is about whole milk. It is
    about our farmers. It is about an acknowledgement that a school
    is a place where kids are going to get the opportunity to get
    some decent nutrition. It does not matter what our politics
    are. We all care about our kids, right?
        It is tough. It is tough, tough, tough for a lot of
    families to get healthy food, because so much has happened in
    the food industry, where in order to make a lot of profit, the
    enterprises that sell food are often very consolidated, and the
    goal that they have is maximization of profit. You look at what
    a lot of the ingredients are on some of the things that are in
    the store, and you have never heard of any of them.
        Whole food also, by the way, tends to be more locally
    produced. The virtuous cycle that happens when you are getting
    local products--milk from Vermont dairy or Kansas dairy or West
    Virginia, or vegetables grown locally--that is healthy food but
    it is also locally produced, and it strengthens the rural
    economy. All of us, in every one of our States, is really
    suffering from incredible pressures on our rural economy, that
    is making life very, very difficult there.
        Senator Marshall, I just want to thank you for your
    leadership on this very practical, and I think long overdue
    legislation about whole milk.
        The other thing that I have been impressed at, Vermont is a
    big dairy State, as you mentioned, Senator Klobuchar. You know,
    there is an immense amount of pride among our dairy farmers.
    Who works harder? Maybe the coal miners, okay.
        Senator Justice. Nobody works harder then dairy people.
        Senator Welch. Well, I was in one of your coal mines, and
    they will give them a run for their money. That is the point,
    is that we can have a food system where we get nutritious food
    by people who are willing to work really, really hard. They are
    not in the goal of becoming millionaires. They are in the goal
    of a committed life to helping the kids and all of us have
    nutritious food. We went off the rails when we made it tough
    for whole milk to be the schools.
        I also want to acknowledge your point about nutrition as a
    whole. You know, the USDA had some grants that resulted in
    Vermont getting a Dairy Innovation Center, and that resulted in
    some facilities putting milk tanks in the schools, where the
    kids would be able to get milk when they wanted it. They would
    take some milk home. You know, do you check everybody's wallet
    to see whether they have got money in it and can afford it or
    not? No, you took advantage of the fact that these kids are at
    school and they can just go over there and choose to drink some
    milk.
        I hope that as we pursue this, this whole milk opportunity
    for our kids and for our farmers, that it is the beginning of a
    real commitment to nutritious, locally produced, natural foods
    as being a much bigger part of what our diet is.
        Is this going to help us on the obesity issue that I think
    is a real problem for America, if we can get back to some whole
    milk products and other natural products?
        Dr. Stoody. I think we need to see how time goes. I think
    we are in a situation where diets are so far from
    recommendations across the board. The recommendations for a
    healthy diet include vegetables, fruits, grains, a variety of
    protein foods and dairy. In general, 80 to 90 percent of people
    in the U.S. do not meet the recommendations for vegetables,
    fruits, dairy. We consume too many refined grains, on average.
    We consume too much added sugars. We consume too much saturated
    fat.
        I think this is one piece of the puzzle to incorporate more
    dairy. But we have a large nutrition problem, and I think it
    needs action across multiple fronts, and not just dairy alone.
        Senator Welch. Thank you. My time is up, but I would say if
    we can do something that is good, let's do it, and then we will
    do another thing that is good. Thank you.
        Senator Klobuchar. Senator Lujan, at least you did not have
    to wait long. Senator Lujan.
        Senator Lujan. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank everyone
    for this important hearing today.
        Now, it is my understanding that we are gathered here for a
    hearing that is titled ``The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act
    and Improving Children's Health.'' I just want that to sit in a
    little bit. Improving Children's Health. I appreciate that we
    are having this conversation today, but I think we are missing
    the big picture. There is a whole conversation going on right
    now about devastating the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
    Program. My colleagues from the other side of the aisle want to
    cut between $1 billion and $230 billion from SNAP. Improving
    Children's Health.
        This comes while President Trump pushes for the largest
    peacetime tax increase in modern U.S. history through sweeping
    tariffs. As the tariffs take effect and the cost of groceries
    rise, my Republican colleagues are planning to slash a few
    programs that exist to help families keep food on the table. I
    think it would be important to have a hearing about that, as
    well.
        For kids across the country, the funding levels we debate
    here in this room are not an abstract number in the budget
    resolution. These are real kids, real people, people that we
    all represent. It is the difference between having a hot lunch
    in school and food in the cupboards when they come home, and
    going hungry.
        Nearly one in four kids in the United States relies on SNAP
    benefits. These kids do not get to choose how much money their
    parents have in their bank accounts each week to buy food.
    Sometimes they do not even get to choose what they get to eat.
        Dr. Stoody, I want to thank you for being here. I
    appreciate the information you provided in your testimony about
    the impacts of dairy consumption on the health of children.
    Currently, one in four children in the United States rely on
    SNAP to access food. In 2023, the dairy industry conservatively
    estimated that SNAP dollars purchased $9.5 billion of dairy
    products--$9.5 billion of dairy products purchased by SNAP. A
    bunch of us represent States that have strong dairies. I do, as
    well. I wonder what the conversations are like when we are
    talking to those dairy families and saying, ``Don't worry.
    These SNAP cuts aren't going to devastate your practice.''
    ``Don't worry. You don't have to get rid of herds.''
        We need a basis for what it is, and like Senator Welch
    said, do what is right. A wise person once said that it is
    never a bad time to do what is right.
        I have a few questions here. Dr. Stoody, yes or no. Did
    President Trump and the USDA cut $1 billion in funding for
    schools and food banks to buy fresh, locally grown food from
    nearby farmers by eliminating the local food and schools
    program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative
    Agreement Program?
        Dr. Stoody. Sir, I am here as a subject matter expert
    related to the Dietary Guidelines. I cannot speak to that, but
    we are happy to bring that back to the department.
        Senator Lujan. I can answer that question. The answer to
    that question is yes. On March 7, 2025, the USDA terminated a
    local foods and schools program and the Local Food Purchase
    Assistance Cooperative Agreement program.
        Dr. Stoody, yes or no. Did President Trump and the USDA
    cancel the Patrick Leahy Farm-to-School Grant Program, which
    provided schools with support for sourcing local foods for
    school lunches and breakfasts?
        Dr. Stoody. Thank you, sir. I am not able to answer that
    question.
        Senator Lujan. I have an answer to that one that might
    surprise everyone. The answer to that question is also yes.
    USDA notified grant applicants on March 24th that the Fiscal
    Year 2025 competition for the Patrick Leahy Farm-to-School
    Grant Program was, quote, ``canceled.''
        Dr. Stoody, yes or no. Did President Trump and the USDA
    freeze $500 million in food deliveries to food banks under The
    Emergency Food Assistance Program without explanation?
        Dr. Stoody. Thank you, sir. I am not able to answer that
    question.
        Senator Lujan. The answer to that question is yes. In March
    2025, USDA suspended millions of dollars in Commodity Credit
    Corporation funds originally destined for food banks across the
    country through The Emergency Food Assistance Program.
        I have several others as examples here. I did not even get
    a chance to visit about whole milk. I grew up as a young
    person, Roger Marshall, with not much money in the bank, but we
    were blessed to have a dairy down the street. My friends still
    make fun of me because when I get a carton of milk from the
    grocery store I shake it. They ask me, ``Why are you shaking
    that carton?'' ``It is how I grew up. The cream rose to the top
    in that milk and you have to shake it before you are going to
    drink it, if you are going to enjoy it.''
        My debate is not about whole milk. I drink it. I support
    it. If we want more whole milk to families across the country
    and more nutritious food, let's have that debate and let's
    stand strong. Let's get a farm bill done. Let's make sure we do
    this, where we support producers across the country and support
    the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, so that my
    farmers back home, when they are having conversations with USDA
    about their planting schedule in a year, because they know who
    their customers are going to be and who they are going to be
    able to sell food to, and then the rug gets pulled out from
    them after they made a year of decisions to plant this stuff,
    it does not make sense. I think we can do things better around
    here.
        Thank you for the time. I yield back.
        Chairman Boozman. [Presiding.] Thank you, Dr. Stoody, for
    being here today. We do appreciate your testimony very, very
    much, and as always it is very, very helpful.
        Let's take a second and get the other panel in place.
        [Pause.]
        Chairman Boozman. Okay. I think we are back in business.
        First I would like to introduce Dr. Keith Ayoob, who is an
    Associate Clinical Professor Emeritus at the Albert Einstein
    College of Medicine in New York City. For over 32 years, Dr.
    Ayoob directed the nutrition clinic as part of the Children's
    Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at Einstein. He is also a
    registered dietitian and nutritionist, with over 30 years of
    clinical experience, working mostly with low-income minority
    children and families in the Bronx.
        Thank you for being here today, Dr. Ayoob. I look forward
    to your testimony.

    STATEMENT OF KEITH AYOOB, Ed.D., ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR EMERITUS,
    DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS, ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE,
                               BRONX, NY

        Dr. Ayoob. Thank you to Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member
    Klobuchar, and the Committee for the opportunity to speak to
    you about the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.
        As introduced, I am an Associate Professor Emeritus of
    Pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
    For 33 years, I directed the Nutrition Clinic as part of the
    Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center, a large
    diagnostic and treatment center at Einstein for children and
    families with special needs. I am also an RDN, a registered
    dietitian/nutritionist. My clinic serves mostly low-income
    minority children and families in the Bronx.
        Testifying before Congress is not typically part of my job.
    I am here because the issue matters to the children I see, so
    it matters to me.
        Dairy milk in schools, and dairy milk, in general, has 13
    essential nutrients, including three of the four what are
    called nutrients of concern: calcium, potassium, and vitamin D,
    so identified by the Dietary Guidelines because the majority of
    Americans, including children, are not getting adequate
    amounts.
        In terms of health, a plethora of scientific literature
    demonstrates that the consumption of cow's milk provides
    children with better bone health, a lower risk for type 2
    diabetes, and a lower risk for cardiovascular disease.
        A systematic review of studies that looked at
    cardiometabolic health in children ages 2 to 18 years found
    that consumption of dairy foods including whole and reduced-fat
    milk had no association with cardiometabolic risk.
        Saturated fat does not exist in isolation in foods, yet
    historically, we viewed saturated fat monolithically. We now
    know that not all saturated fat behaves the same way in the
    body. In dairy foods, it is bound to protein like a dairy-fat
    or protein-fat matrix, and in this form, the body seems to have
    handled it differently. When saturated fats are in the protein-
    fat network that occurs in dairy foods like milk, yogurt, and
    cheese, they appear not to decrease bad cholesterol and to
    lower the harmful portion of bad cholesterol. Can other foods
    lower bad cholesterol and reduce cardiovascular risk?
    Absolutely, but they cannot provide the 13 essential nutrients
    in milk.
        Numerous systematic reviews have found that higher-fat milk
    consumption to be associated with lower childhood obesity. I
    work primarily with Black and Hispanic children, and obesity
    rates are higher in this population. That said, in 2010, when
    whole milk and reduced-fat were removed from school meals,
    obesity prevalence was about 17 percent. Since the removal of
    whole milk and reduced-fat milk in schools, obesity prevalence
    has increased. It is now 21 percent, but it is higher, about 25
    percent, in Black and Hispanic children, which is the
    population that I work with.
        Clearly whole milk was not the issue here. The type of milk
    in schools was not the cause of this, and it is not the cure.
        Taking this a step further, if children are not drinking
    milk at school because the school does not have the type of
    milk they prefer, one would postulate that they would lose
    weight. There is no evidence this is happening.
        No matter what type of milk is offered in school, none of
    it is nutritious until students drink it. They do not drink it
    often enough, which just exacerbates their nutrient and dietary
    gaps.
        Moreover, giving the children the kind of milk option they
    like can encourage participation in school meal programs, and
    that is my goal. Most of the children that I see are from low-
    income families, and specifically, milk provides 22 percent of
    the calcium, 40 percent of the vitamin D, and 10 percent of the
    potassium in the American diet. In a study of low-income
    children, 77 percent of their daily milk intake came from
    school meals.
        In conclusion, milk, including low-fat milk, reduced-fat
    milk, and whole milk, and skim, and lactose-free varieties
    represents a nutrient package that I have never been able to
    find in any other single food or beverage.
        Thank you very much for your time, and I look forward to
    your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Dr. Ayoob can be found on pages
    38-43 in the appendix.]
        Chairman Boozman. Thank you, Dr. Ayoob.
        Next we will hear from Mrs. Krista Byler. Mrs. Byler
    currently serves as the District Chef and Food Service Director
    for Union City Area School District, a rural community located
    in northwestern Pennsylvania. She studied at Pennsylvania's
    Institute of Culinary Arts and spent several years working as a
    professional chef prior to entering school nutrition in 2005.
    Mrs. Byler comes from a family of dairy farmers, and brings her
    appreciation for agriculture and passion for culinary education
    to school nutrition.
        Thank you very much, Mrs. Byler, for taking time away from
    your family and your students to be with us today.

    STATEMENT OF KRISTA BYLER, DISTRICT FOOD SERVICE DIRECTOR/CHEF,
           UNION CITY AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT, SPARTANSBURG, PA

        Mrs. Byler. Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member Klobuchar, and
    Members of the Committee, good morning. Thank you for the
    opportunity to speak before you today.
        My name is Krista Byler. I am a professional chef turned
    lunch lady. I have been with the Union City Area School
    District for 20 years as the Food Service Director and District
    Chef.
        When I began my career in child nutrition it was for
    selfish reasons. The schedule aligned better with my family
    life and few food service positions offer that opportunity.
    What I did not know 20 years ago, but quickly learned, was how
    child nutrition would change me and even break me. I think we
    have heard stories today that speak to that.
        Half of the reason I am here today is that passion for
    child nutrition. The other half, as Senator Boozman mentioned,
    I come from a dairy family. I grew up in my grandfather's dairy
    back yard, and have been married for 24 years to a once dairy
    farmer, now turned beef producer. Dairy holds a huge space in
    my heart, obviously, as does child nutrition.
        In 2010, when the Child Reauthorization was passed, I was
    very concerned about how the school milk changes would affect
    both our students and our dairy farm families in Pennsylvania
    and nationwide. I kept a close eye on the milk consumption and
    waste that we started seeing in about 2012, when the act
    actually was put into practice. It was heartbreaking what I was
    seeing at our little, 1,000-student school district. The amount
    of waste that we were throwing away each day was disheartening.
        As the years grew, with this new legislation in place, my
    dairy orders also greatly declined. We were seeing a huge
    increase in waste and a huge decline in the amount of milk that
    I was actually ordering, because our students were not choosing
    to take milk.
        In the spring of 2018, I attended the Legislation Action
    Committee, put on by the School Nutrition Association, in
    Washington, DC, where I had the opportunity to meet with GT
    Thompson and a group of school nutrition professionals that
    were like-minded in their concern for the school milk waste. As
    well, there were some dairy interest groups there. Through that
    meeting, I was introduced to the Pennsylvania Grassroots Dairy
    Committee, and they had invited me to do some data collection
    for the group.
        With the blessing of our school board of directors, in the
    2019-2020 school year, we ran a school milk choice trial. We
    began offering all levels of milk fat, both flavored and
    unflavored, in our district for the entire school year. The
    results are astounding. In my written testimony, if you would
    like to check out the full presentation with all of the survey
    results and the data, it is there for you to read.
        What I want to really drive home today is two main data
    points: the 50 percent increase in milk consumption and the 95
    percent--that is right, 95 percent--reduction in milk waste
    just because we offered a variety of milk choices that fit our
    students need.
        This is a win for our students as well as our farmers. We
    need to be the change makers that our students and dairy
    farmers both need. We need to bring back the ability to offer
    milk fat choice in schools, including nutrient-dense whole
    milk, which, by the way, is just 3.25 to 3.5 percent fat.
        I would be remiss if I did not address the concerns that
    you have also heard a lot about today regarding the local food
    cut, CEP reduction, the Patrick Leahy programs. Unfortunately,
    those cuts, combined with the increasing cost of procurement,
    may force schools to scale back or abandon some of the efforts
    that they have put into place recently that are really
    incredible. The school meals you heard about today, I can
    firsthand say that there are some very, very incredible things
    happening that do not speak to that, and I hate to see those
    cut due to the lack of funding.
        I believe access to good quality, nutrient-dense school
    food is a basic right of education. School meals are an
    essential school supply.
        Thank you again for the opportunity to speak. I welcome any
    questions you might have.
        [The prepared statement of Mrs. Byler can be found on pages
    44-56 in the appendix.]
        Chairman Boozman. Thank you.
        Dr. Linette Dodson currently serves as the Deputy
    Superintendent of School Nutrition for the Georgia Department
    of Education. Prior to joining the Georgia Department of
    Education in 2019, she served as Local School Nutrition
    Director in Georgia for over 18 years. Her leadership in
    helping Georgia students continue receiving meals during the
    pandemic earned her Georgia's ``Big Voices for Children
    Award,'' in 2023.
        Dr. Dodson, thank you for joining us today. We look forward
    to your testimony.

     STATEMENT OF LINETTE DODSON, Ph.D., DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF
    SCHOOL NUTRITION, GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CARROLLTON,
                                   GA

        Dr. Dodson. Thank you, Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member
    Klobuchar, and Members of the Committee. Thank you for the
    opportunity to testify today on the importance of the national
    school meal programs and share some current challenges and best
    practices.
        I am Linette Dodson, Deputy Superintendent of School
    Nutrition for Georgia Department of Education, and a registered
    dietitian. Prior to my role at the State I was a local director
    for almost 20 years, and I really discovered my passion for
    school nutrition while working in my children's school
    district.
        I have seen firsthand the positive impact the national
    school meal programs on children have locally and Statewide.
    School meals are a vital source of nutrition for 30 million
    school-age children across our country. It is a program
    perfectly positioned to significantly impact the health of our
    Nation's children, if properly supported. As a valuable partner
    in education, school meals can integrate food-based learning to
    help students learn about food, enhance their education, and
    improve their diets. School meals are a science-based
    investment in our Nation's future, supporting children's
    growth, development, and academic success. With a diverse menu
    of whole grains, lean meats, fruits, vegetables, and milk, they
    should be accessible to all students as part of their school
    day.
        We must not let the progress made in improving students'
    dietary habits during the school year falter during summer
    months when school is out. This is why summer meal programs are
    essential. They provide children with continued access to
    nutritious meals, even outside of the school setting. The
    recent flexibilities allowing to-go meal options in rural areas
    has significantly expanded our reach, ensuring more children in
    need receive healthy food while school is out.
        However, I think it is important for the Committee to
    understand that there are serious challenges that the programs
    are facing today, including soaring food costs, labor
    shortages, and unnecessary program complexities. Federal
    funding that supports these meals must cover the cost of
    purchasing food, paying for labor and benefits, as well as
    purchasing equipment.
        Many programs are challenged just like consumers with
    increased costs in all these areas. Expanded reimbursement is
    needed to maintain the food quality required to be domestically
    sourced and the skilled workforce to prepare that food.
        There are complex program regulations that require
    extensive staff training and support and take away from the
    focus of nutritious foods. Continuing to simplify the program
    and reduce these administrative burdens would allow more focus
    to be on the food that is actually served to students.
        Beyond the need for increased reimbursement and
    simplification of regulations, the programs have benefited from
    additional investments such as the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable
    Program and Equipment Grants. The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable
    Program introduces fruits and vegetable snacks to elementary
    school children, and it improves acceptability and consumption
    of those food items in the meal program. The Equipment Grants
    help provide specialized kitchen equipment needed to prepare
    school meals with fresh ingredients.
        Recent Federal grants expanded the inclusion of locally
    sourced foods, improving the quality of these meals, and
    providing direct support for local farmers. All of these
    supports have only strengthened the program and could be
    increased to expand the documented positive impacts.
        In Georgia, our local districts embrace innovation to focus
    on the quality of meals served to our students. Our K-12
    culinary culture moves beyond just regulatory compliance. This
    means the incorporation of fresh local foods, applying culinary
    techniques, food safety standards with good customer service,
    which creates a school meal experience. Federal requirements
    must be met, but the standard should be greater than just
    meeting requirements. For Georgia it is a quality school meal
    being provided to every student, in every school, every day.
        Thank you from our Nation's school-age children and school
    nutrition professionals for the financial commitment that has
    been made for almost 80 years funding school meals. The
    additional grant funding has allowed for the expansion of farm-
    to-school initiatives, purchases of kitchen equipment, and
    expansion of local foods, and providing quality school meals
    that look and taste good is an investment worth making.
        Please consider expanding the reimbursement rates, continue
    to invest in farm-to-school and local purchasing programs and
    grant initiatives to streamline program regulations. Our goal
    should be to ensure a quality school meal is available to every
    student, every day, in our Nation's schools. Thank you so much.
        [The prepared statement of Dr. Dodson can be found on pages
    57-62 in the appendix.]
        Chairman Boozman. Thank you. Senator Klobuchar.
        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you. Senator Slotkin welcomes you.
    She could not be here at this moment, Mr. Gorman, and passed on
    your good wishes. I know you have served as the Food Service
    Director for public schools in Michigan for 25 years, and you
    are a graduate of the Michigan State University Eli Broad
    School of Business, with a bachelor's degree in hotel and
    restaurant management. In addition to your work as School Food
    Director for your school district you have served in a number
    of roles related to child nutrition and school meals, and you
    have served the School Nutrition Association of Michigan, as
    well.
        We thank you and welcome you to this hearing.

     STATEMENT OF DAN GORMAN, FOOD SERVICE DIRECTOR, MONTAGUE AREA
         PUBLIC AND NORTH MUSKEGON PUBLIC SCHOOLS, MONTAGUE, MI

        Mr. Gorman. Thank you, Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member
    Klobuchar, and Members of the Committee. I appreciate this
    opportunity. As has been said, my name is Dan Gorman. I have
    been the School Food Service Director in Montague Area Public
    Schools and North Muskegon Public Schools for the past 26
    years.
        Today I would like to talk about this dollar. This dollar
    allocated by Congress for school means, and in my opinion is
    the best dollar that the U.S. Government spends. We have been
    given the mission in school meals, feed America's children. We
    do that every day--30 million lunches and 15 million
    breakfasts, served by kind, caring, nutrition professionals
    offering well-balanced meals.
        What else does the dollar do? Those 45 million meals every
    day include fruits and vegetables grown by American farmers,
    meat from American ranchers and producers, and milk from
    American dairies. It funds food manufacturers, food
    distributors, and provides meaningful work to lunch ladies
    across the Nation.
        Finally, school meals serve as a financial and nutritional
    safety net for millions of kids. Now I know this hearing is
    about whole milk, and I would just like to note, flexibility
    rather than mandates allows me to best serve my students and
    reflects the needs of my community.
        What worries me more is the proposals that would reduce
    Community Eligibility Provision and divert resources away from
    school meals. CEP is smart government. CEP allows high-need
    schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no charge to all
    students. It takes an economic snapshot of the community,
    called an ISP, using SNAP and Medicaid data. Schools with an
    ISP of 25 percent or higher qualify for CEP. To account for
    families not eligible enrolled in SNAP, CEP applies a 1.6
    multiplier. In North Muskegon, our ISP is 25 percent. We can
    offer free meals to all of our students. Our Federal
    reimbursement is approximately 40 percent. Luckily, Michigan is
    a Healthy School Meals for All State, and the State picks up
    the additional 60 percent of our cost shortfall.
        CEP is a great success. In North Muskegon we saw a 300
    percent increase in our breakfast participation and a 30
    percent increase in our lunch participation. It has made a real
    difference. Our ability to focus on student meals and not
    paperwork has been a game changer.
        The proposal to raise the CEP threshold from 25 percent to
    60 percent would devastate our districts I oversee and schools
    nationwide. If passed, Montague, North Muskegon, and 24,000
    other high-need schools would lose CEP and free meal access.
        Let me talk a little bit about the non-CEP meal application
    process. It is inefficient. My families would have to fill out
    an application, and then my staff would have to review that
    application, and then I would have to look at it to make sure
    everything is right. Then someone from our State office, every
    three to five years, they would come look at the piece of
    paper. Then we hire an auditor every year and they check out
    that piece of paper, and then at some point the USDA comes by
    and they look at it, all to confirm that Johnny is deserving of
    a free meal.
        If the House Budget Chair's proposal to increase household
    income verification passes, I would have to process over 1,000
    applications a year. There are large school districts that
    would have the burden of about 20,000 applications, and this is
    a big concern to me.
        I would also say the other cutbacks that have been talked
    about around agriculture is very hurtful. Investing in small
    agriculture is essential for national security. A resilient
    nation requires strong small farms, and these programs build
    that resilience. They must continue.
        This Committee has a long history of getting things done.
    While other things might work differently in these halls, this
    Committee has always been a group that works for America. I
    hope that continues.
        I am incredibly grateful to be here to share this message.
    We need to be successful in school nutrition because our
    students cannot be successful without it. I am ready to help in
    any way to make this dollar work better for our kids, and I
    welcome your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Gorman can be found on pages
    63-69 in the appendix.]
        Chairman Boozman. Thank you very much. We do appreciate you
    all being here and the helpful testimony.
        Mrs. Byler, in your testimony you highlighted the
    significant reduction in milk waste as a result of the trial
    you conducted to offer students a wider variety of options. Can
    you expand on how limiting choices led to increased waste of
    milk and how expanding choice could result in less milk being
    thrown away?
        Mrs. Byler. Absolutely. Obviously I can only speak really
    from my district, but in my district most of the students were
    very upset when we had the rollback because they are not
    familiar with skim milk or one percent. I will give them
    credit. They all tried it, and the majority decided they did
    not like it.
        When we had the milk trial back, after about seven years of
    not having those options, they were thrilled. Our student
    council actually did the data collection, and unfortunately
    they took a little bit of heat after the 2020 school year, when
    we went back to not being able to offer the variety. Just
    overwhelmingly, the feedback we had from the students was they
    want what they are familiar with. They want something that is
    satisfying. Our athletes especially were very vocal about
    something that sticks with them. It is a perfect recovery
    drink. There is just a lot of anecdotal data that I have from
    our students that what works for them is best. Having a full
    variety of options is best.
        Chairman Boozman. Very good. Dr. Ayoob, in your testimony
    you speak to the complexity of obesity and the tendency of many
    groups to point to one issue as the sole cause for obesity. Can
    you expand on how policymakers in the nutrition community have
    gotten it wrong in the past by drawing a correlation between
    milk and obesity?
        Dr. Ayoob. There actually is no correlation between milk
    and obesity. Actually, the correlation is inverse. A greater
    consumption of dairy foods, historically, has shown less
    obesity. Can I build on what Mrs. Byler said about what the
    children chose? I know my kids, in my clinic, have said that
    they find skim milk watery. It is just what you are used to,
    and they are not used to that at home. They may take that
    carton of milk. That is fine. The school will get reimbursed. I
    am concerned they drain that carton of milk. Because if they
    take a few sips and then, okay, that is enough, I am done
    because I do not want any more, that is different than if they
    take the carton and they actually drain it, okay, and they
    finish that carton. There is less food waste and there is more
    nutrition going into the children.
        I will tell you, I think I mentioned, and I have certainly
    submitted it in my written testimony, that the dairy fat in
    milk, when it is combined with a protein-fat matrix it is not
    handled by the body the same way. It is handled a little bit
    differently. Study after study has shown, and a review of
    studies has shown, that I mentioned in my submitted testimony,
    that greater consumption of dairy foods, including whole-fat
    dairy foods, has been associated with less obesity and less
    cardiometabolic risk.
        Now, I want kids to eat a full meal. I want the whole meal
    to be consumed. If kids get the options--I am not talking about
    taking any options away from kids, but I want the full access
    that they should have, for the range of options of milk that
    are available. They may come to lunch, or breakfast, because
    they have the milk they like, but they are going to stay for
    the meal. That is my goal. They may come for the milk, but I
    want them to stay for the whole meal, because that is the way I
    can get a balanced meal into those kids.
        Chairman Boozman. Very good. Senator Klobuchar.
        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Senator Boozman.
    Thank you, all of you. I will go to you, Mr. Ayoob. In your
    testimony you talk about the critical importance of healthy
    eating, nutrition during childhood, especially with respect to
    calcium. Can you explain in more detail why this period of life
    is so important in terms of nutrition and nutrients?
        Dr. Ayoob. Thank you. I would love to, because we do not
    have our whole lives to build our bone bank. We have the first
    25-ish years. Study after study has shown that kids are under-
    consuming calcium and all the nutrients that are necessary to
    build bones, and that includes potassium, vitamin D, et cetera.
    If they skip the milk in school--now, that might seem like it
    is no big deal for a day, maybe even a week, but if they forego
    a glass of milk every day they are in school, every day for 12
    years, we are going to graduate them with a diploma and not
    very good bones. We owe our kids better than that.
        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you.
        Dr. Ayoob. Can I add to that just one second? I think it
    was mentioned earlier that we are going to see earlier
    osteoporosis, early osteopenia. We always think that is an old
    people's disease. It is a pediatric disease with adult
    consequences.
        Senator Klobuchar. Got it. Thank you. Mrs. Byler, do you
    believe we have made progress in school meals in recent years,
    and how?
        Mrs. Byler. Yes, 100 percent. I am seeing success stories
    with farm-to-school programming, through the Patrick Leahy
    program, with the Chef Ann Foundation, the Healthy Meals
    Initiatives. There are a lot of fantastic programs available
    that have helped school districts. I think that there is a huge
    movement. I mean, there was a huge movement and it continues to
    grow for culinary professionals moving school programs. I am
    seeing----
        Senator Klobuchar. We have done meat-cutting in Minnesota.
    I have been at a bunch of their things, in trailers outside the
    schools. A lot of knives but it is very good.
        Mrs. Byler. We are seeing local beef in schools. We are
    seeing local produce. It is really amazing work.
        Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Very good. Thank you. Ms. Dodson,
    school meals programs support Americans farmers by receiving a
    portion of their Federal reimbursement as a commodity credit.
    Can you talk about how you use this credit, how it supports
    families in Georgia?
        Dr. Dodson. Absolutely. It is a huge factor. In Georgia, we
    have a goal of at least 20 percent of our school meals being
    sourced locally in Georgia. Of course, most recently, from the
    Local Foods for School Initiative, we know we have spent almost
    $5 million in addition to the USDA foods that are sourced
    through our DoD Fresh Program, and that program, we are serving
    about $6 million worth of local produce through that program,
    as well as additional purchases that are made at the local
    level. There is a lot of Georgia food being served on Georgia
    trays.
        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you. Mr. Gorman, I like your
    enthusiastic testimony down there. You have said that community
    eligibility has made as much of an impact on school meals as
    anything you have seen in your 25 years as a school food
    director. Can you talk about why community eligibility stands
    out as a positive force for schools?
        Mr. Gorman. You know, I have noticed, in my career, in the
    26 years it has really been the last five years where I have
    been able to have been qualified for the CEP program, and I
    have noticed the difference of really just the time I have to
    do things and the time my staff has to do things.
        Senator Klobuchar. Yes.
        Mr. Gorman. In the last five years, with some farm-to-
    school----
        Senator Klobuchar. Red tape.
        Mr. Gorman [continuing]. Red tape. We are able to focus on
    school meals and the food in front of the kids.
        Senator Klobuchar. You also talk in your testimony about
    the fact that SNAP cuts would undermine your ability to serve
    kids through the community eligibility. I had asked this
    earlier and our USDA expert, who I respect, was going to get
    back to us on that. That is something right in front of us
    right now, as some of my colleagues have pointed out. Can you
    talk about why this is the case and what the impact would be?
        Mr. Gorman. You know, SNAP is the way most of our children
    qualify for school meals, and if they come off of that program
    then they could not qualify for school meals. What that does is
    that returns hunger to the classroom, and hunger is humiliating
    for a child, embarrassing, painful, and most likely
    unnecessary.
        Senator Klobuchar. Okay. Last, just back to you Ms. Dodson,
    some people have proposed raising the threshold for community
    eligibility from 25 percent to 60 percent of low-income
    students. Can you talk about the impact of such a change to
    Georgia, and can you estimate how many schools and students
    would lose access to school meals if such a change were made?
        Dr. Dodson. Yes, ma'am. Currently we have 1,296 schools out
    of our 2,300 that operate the Community Eligibility Provision
    in Georgia, and this has been a tremendous amount of growth. We
    would lose, potentially, 350 of those schools with that change,
    and with the further changes with SNAP that could be an even
    greater factor moving forward. About half a million children,
    potentially, would lose access.
        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you for your thoughtful testimony,
    all four of you, and thank you, Senator Boozman.
        Chairman Boozman. Senator Marshall.
        Senator Marshall. Thank you again, Chairman Boozman and
    Ranking Member Klobuchar, and again, Senator Welch, my co-
    leader on this legislation. Welcome to all the panel members
    and thank you for taking time out of your day for something
    obviously that is important and near and dear to all your
    hearts, so I appreciate it.
        I want to start off with Chef Byler. Can I call you Chef?
        Mrs. Byler. Yes.
        Senator Marshall. Okay. I did not get to hear all your
    testimony. I am reviewing it here. It sounds to me like when
    you offer students a choice of milks, consumption goes up. Can
    you just speak really quickly to that again, giving them
    choices?
        Mrs. Byler. Sure. Yes, absolutely. The milk that we were
    ordering increased by 50 percent, and the waste decreased by 95
    percent during the trial years, the year that we did.
        Senator Marshall. That is incredible. I mean, it is
    absolutely incredible, and it is amazing when we do a little
    education, a little coaching, a little teaching, and a few
    choices, that eventually the consumer makes these choices.
        When you are considering the cost of a student's meal, the
    lunches that you are in charge of, I am sure you do have to
    think about cost a little bit. I hate to ask a question I do
    not know the answer, but is milk an expensive item, or how does
    the cost of milk formulate into that school lunch program as
    you think about the cost of the nutritious lunch you are
    serving?
        Mrs. Byler. Sure. I mean, nationwide we have about $4.50 to
    put a lunch together, and that includes everything, all of our
    overhead costs. In Pennsylvania, where I am at, in northwestern
    Pennsylvania, the cost of milk is about 27 cents.
        Senator Marshall. For a carton?
        Mrs. Byler. Correct. Yes.
        Senator Marshall. I just remember, again, growing, like
    Peter said, at 10 every morning the milk lady came in. They
    were a nickel, and I had a dime to spend on them, and had an
    extra milk ticket to punch at lunch because my parents wanted
    me to have extra milk, and I still credit milk to so many great
    things, as well.
        What is your advice to us that we are missing so far as we
    try to bring, in my opinion, whole milk back to the school?
        Mrs. Byler. I think it was said very well several times
    today. We can do better. I think if we just bring back the milk
    choice to schools we would see a huge increase in consumption,
    a huge decrease in waste, and satisfaction for our students,
    would be through the roof.
        Senator Marshall. One of the choices would be whole milk.
        Mrs. Byler. Absolutely.
        Senator Marshall. Right, as well.
        Dr. Ayoob, I want to talk to you a second. I am the OB. I
    got to bring the baby in. You are a pediatrician, right?
        Dr. Ayoob. I am not a medical doctor. I am a doctor of
    nutrition.
        Senator Marshall. Of nutrition. For some reason I thought
    you were in pediatrics. I do not know where I got that. You
    started talking about osteopenia and osteoporosis, and I just
    want to drive this home. There is just nothing more
    frustrating, challenging in my life when an elderly woman has
    osteoporosis and her vertebrae have collapsed. Really, I mean,
    they are in horrible pain, they are in the emergency room. It
    is not like replacing a hip. I cannot go in there and help
    those folks out. Just speak a little bit more what you are
    seeing clinically when it comes to osteopenia and porosis, and
    how important it is that you reach your maximum density around
    26, 28, and then it is downhill from there unless you are
    taking some pretty aggressive medications.
        Dr. Ayoob. I can tell you, my clinic deals mostly with
    kids, but I see what happens with their parents, who are young
    parents who did not grow up with drinking a lot of milk. They
    do suffer. They do pay the price. Knee problems, hip problems,
    et cetera.
        I take dietary histories on all the kids that I see, and I
    always want to focus on the balance of nutrient that kids are
    getting. If I see food groups that are missing, that is a red
    flag for me. I always ask them, I say, ``Do you drink the milk
    in school?'' and I want to find out why. They say, ``Well, I
    don't like it.'' I know what kind of milk is offered. It is
    skim and one percent. It may not be what they are used to. That
    is a missed opportunity. That is just a missed opportunity.
        Now some kids will drink the milk fine, and I am not
    worried about taking away options. I just want to make sure
    that the full spread of options is there so that kids can get
    the milk that they want and they can actually drink the entire
    carton of it.
        Senator Marshall. Yes. I meant to ask Chef Byler what the
    options were at school these days, but I still want to just--I
    mean, sodas, sugar sodas, are not just neutral when it comes to
    osteoporosis and penia. It is actually going the wrong
    direction. Go ahead.
        Dr. Ayoob. Can I speak one second? Also, if kids do not get
    the kind of milk they drink, they are going to end the school
    day with eight hours less fluid. They are going to be thirsty.
    They are going to be hungry because there is protein and
    nutrition in that milk. They are going to go right down to the
    corner, at least where I live in New York City, and they are
    going to go buy some 24-ounce bottle of swill, that is
    basically sugar water and----
        Senator Marshall. Yes, because milk is, what, is it 80
    percent water, 90 percent----
        Dr. Ayoob. Yes, A bottle of something----
        Senator Marshall. Something to get hydrated.
        Dr. Ayoob [continuing]. that is going to have, first of
    all, more sugar than they get in an entire week in school, but
    even then, it has got no nutrition in it. That is losing.
        Senator Marshall. Yes. Emphasizing, soda is not just--you
    do not lose benefits of milk. It is actually soda is really
    hard on your bones. Is that right, Chef Byler?
        Mrs. Byler. Yes.
        Senator Marshall. Okay. I better yield back. Thank you so
    much.
        Chairman Boozman. Senator Welch.
        Senator Welch. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. You know,
    one of reasons I so appreciate this Committee, led by you and
    Senator Klobuchar, is the kind of witnesses we get. I mean, you
    guys are doing good work. I really appreciate it. You know, I
    am thinking about you, and you have found a way, that suited
    your schedule, and then you turned it into this incredible
    career that has been so beneficial not just for your kids but
    for kids all over the country. That is pretty impressive. Each
    of you has been so committed to doing practical things on the
    local level, community level, where there is so much pressure
    in our communities that pull families apart, that make it tough
    for parents managing with their kids going to school, that they
    worry about how they are doing there, and food is so essential.
        I just wanted to express to each of you my gratitude for
    the work that you are doing.
        Mr. Chairman, as you know, our job is to make their job
    easier, not harder. We fail in that a lot of times, but this
    Committee is really committed to trying to do everything we
    can.
        I will start by just asking Ms. Dodson, put it in the
    context of broader issues than just milk, but the nutrition
    programs. We have debates here about funding any kind of
    program, and that is fair and square. I literally have not
    heard a witness, including the most fiscally conservative folks
    here, who have anything that they object to with respect to
    school nutrition. You know, we have a debate about whether it
    should be needs-based or whatever, but in addition to the
    fundamentally beneficial effect of having kids get good
    nutrition at school, I have always felt there is a
    socialization element to that, you know, kids having a meal
    together, sharing milk together, which is so much a part of not
    only building a good body but good character.
        Maybe you could just comment a little bit about the
    benefits you see.
        Dr. Dodson. Yes, sir. I think school meals have a unique
    opportunity, as I mentioned. I honestly believe it could be a
    tremendous solution for our Nation's health, give the
    opportunity to model healthy eating, expose children to a wide
    variety of locally grown foods especially, that are healthy and
    nutritious. We have seen the combination of that with nutrition
    education, or what we call food-based learning, is a way to
    bring education lessons alive. Also it gets students more
    comfortable with the food choices that they are being served as
    part of school meals, because they are not always seeing those
    at home, in their regular diet. They are not always exposed to
    fresh fruits and vegetables like we have the opportunity to
    provide them with at school.
        I think education has that opportunity, and school
    nutrition can kind of be that educational hub, if you will, and
    a foundation for children within their school day.
        Senator Welch. Thank you. Mr. Gorman, my predecessor in the
    U.S. Senate from Vermont is that man who is staring at us right
    from his picture up there, former Chairman of the Agriculture
    Committee, Patrick Leahy, whom we in Vermont are very proud of
    all he did. One of his many accomplishments was the Patrick
    Leahy Farm-to-School and Local Food for Schools Cooperative
    Program. That was terminated for the rest of this fiscal year,
    and my understanding is it will be reinstated next year.
        Can you just comment on the benefit of Senator Leahy's
    legacy program that was supported with a strong bipartisan
    majority in the U.S. Senate?
        Mr. Gorman. Yes. Thank you for that question. It really is.
    We were a recipient of the grant probably five or six years
    ago, and we had applied this coming year and got that notice
    that it was canceled, so it was really crushing to us. You
    know, it is a jumpstart to local food movements. I think about
    over our past 10, 15 years, it started us building toward
    figuring out the local infrastructure and getting more local
    food and starting school gardens.
        Over the past five years, we have gotten private and public
    grants in our county, over $2 million, to move on this issue,
    to get kids so they understand what local food is, to make
    those connections. We are starting a food processing plant in
    Muskegon County with the goal of getting local Michigan
    potatoes diced and frozen, so we can get them on every plate in
    Muskegon County and beyond. All of that started with that Farm-
    to-School Grant that we got 10 years ago as a cooperative, to
    start putting those pieces together.
        Senator Welch. Thank you very much. Before I yield back I
    just want to say, this Committee has an opportunity to help the
    Senate be a better Senate, and I think one of the things we can
    do is take some of these specific bills that we agree on and
    move them, like this whole milk, Senator Marshall's Whole Milk
    Bill. I am just going to suggest to the Chairman to give that
    some thought. We can move this before we get a full farm bill.
    Let's get some things done that we think make sense to get
    done, and help our farmers and help our kids.
        I yield back.
        Chairman Boozman. Well, thanks to the panel for being here.
    I agree with the Senator from Vermont when he said that you all
    do good work. I was very impressed, as was the rest of the
    Committee, by your testimony and your thoughtfulness.
        With that, the record will remain open for five business
    days, and today's hearing is adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 11:50 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

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                                A P P E N D I X

                                 April 1, 2025

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                             QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

                                 April 1, 2025

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