On the recordDecember 13, 2023
I am proud to cosponsor the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, and I urge my colleagues to support its adoption. After over 10 years of schools having to comply with a nonsensical ban, I am excited to work on this bill to provide full-favor, nutrient- dense milk to kids once again. Parents and physicians have known the benefits of milk for generations. Nearly 70 percent of milk consumed at home is whole or 2 percent because it actually tastes good. It is packed with vitamins, and, most importantly, kids actually love it. I know my four do. Full-fat milk gives parents alternatives to soda that their kids actually want to drink, but kids have been barred--strangely barred-- from having their favorite milk choices in schools. The result has been a decline in milk consumption in schools, and when kids are drinking less milk, they are losing out on nutrients that are critical for their healthy development. Milk is the top source of protein, calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D for kids. It provides seven of the 14 nutrients the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends for brain development. The bottom line is that limiting milk in schools reduces consumption of essential nutrients, pushes kids towards sugary alternatives, and has led to less healthy kids. As the Representative for hundreds of family-owned dairy farms in New York, and as a parent to four kids, I have one special interest: the health standard of the kids growing up in our communities.…
