For 12 years, students in public schools have not been able to access the milk options that they prefer and consume at home: whole and reduced-fat (2%) milk. This National School Lunch Week, U.S. parents are calling for Congress to reinstate whole and 2% milk in U.S. public schools. As the U.S. Senate considers the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2023—bipartisan legislation to reinstate these nutritious milk options in school meals—a new Morning Consult poll of parents with children in public school shows widespread support for the bill.
Large majorities of parents surveyed in the Morning Consult national tracking poll commissioned by the International Dairy Foods Association want to see whole and 2% milk back in school meals. Findings include:
- 91% of parents serve whole or 2% to their school-aged children at home, and they want these options to be made available to their children at school;
- 88% of parents agree that whole milk and 2% milk should be options for children in public schools;
- Most parents of public-school students believe whole (60%) and/or 2% milk (60%) is currently served in their children’s school cafeterias, although these options were banned more than a decade ago;
- 81% of parents support Congress passing the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act to make these options available, including 89% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans;
- Nine in ten (87%) view drinking milk as an important component of children’s daily nutritional intake; and
- Parents consider whole and 2% milk to be nutritious (89%), healthy (88%), wholesome (85%), and tasty (87%).
Key Findings
91% of parents serve whole or 2% to their school-aged children at home, and they want these options to be made available to their children at school.
Which of the following types of milk do you serve to your children at home?
88% of parents agree that whole milk and 2% milk should be options for children in public schools.
Do you agree or disagree that whole milk and 2% milk should be an option for children in public school meals in your community?
Most parents of public-school students believe whole (60%) and/or 2% milk (60%) is currently served in their children’s school cafeterias.
As far as you know, which of the following milk products are served in public school cafeterias in the United States?
81% of parents support Congress passing legislation to make these options available.
As you may know, whole milk and 2% milk have not been served in U.S. public schools since 2010. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act would allow public schools to offer whole and 2% milk, in addition to reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free, and lactose-free milk options, during school meals. Do you support or oppose allowing public schools to offer whole and 2% milk for children for public school meals in addition to low-fat, fat-free, and lactose-free milk options?
Nine in ten (87%) view drinking milk as an important component of children’s daily nutritional intake.
How important, if at all, do you believe drinking milk is for children's daily nutritional intake?
Parents consider whole and 2% milk to be nutritious (89%), healthy (88%), wholesome (85%), and tasty (87%).
Do you agree or disagree that each of the following words describe whole and 2% milk?
