Bill will support students and Vermont’s dairy farmers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today celebrated the Senate’s unanimous passage of his bipartisan, bicameral Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, legislation to support America’s students and dairy farmers.
The bipartisan bill, co-led with Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), would allow schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to offer students whole milk, in addition to reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free, lactose-free milk, and non-dairy alternatives. It will now move to the House of Representatives.
“Dairy is at the heart of Vermont’s culture and local economy, which is why our bipartisan bill to expand access to whole milk in our schools is a win for Vermont’s students and farmers. Our Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act will help our next generation grow stronger and helps dairy farmers do what they love—feed our communities,” said Senator Welch. “I’m thankful for the support of the Senate on our bipartisan bill and look forward to sending it to the President’s desk.”
Before the vote, Senators Welch and Marshall took to the Senate floor to highlight the benefits of their bipartisan legislation.
“This is a very serious thing in two ways: number one, we’ve got to have good nutrition for our kids…and the second reason is that the dairy farming industry—it’s not so much an industry as it is a way of life. And in Vermont, the hardest working people we have are dairy farmers. It’s a hard, hard job. But it’s one where families have done it for generation to generation. There’s an enormous pride in being custodians of the landscape, and caring for the animals and the herd, and in providing nutritious milk to the community. And there’s a lot of pressure on our farmers. And this whole milk bill is an acknowledgment of the extraordinary contribution that the dairy farmers in the state of Vermont make to the entire state of Vermont—that the dairy farmers in America make to all of America…” said Senator Welch on the Senate Floor, after drinking from a glass of whole milk.
Watch the Senator’s full remarks below:
As Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, Senator Welch has championed efforts to support Vermont’s dairy farmers and strengthen the state’s dairy industry. This Congress, Senator Welch reintroduced the Organic Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Reporting Yields Act (O DAIRY) Act, legislation to expand federal support for organic dairy farmers by extending emergency assistance to farmers facing losses due to factors like feed shortages and increased costs.
Senator Welch also recently introduced legislation to help more Americans access SNAP and improve child nutrition, including the Local School Foods Expansion Act, Improving Access to Nutrition Act of 2025, Student Loan Deduction Act of 2025, and the School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act. Last Congress, Senator Welch introduced several bills in the 118th Congress to support Vermont’s dairy, organic, and specialty crop farmers. These bills were included in Senate Democrats’ draft Farm Bill, the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act.
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