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Brancel concerned schools might not change milk menus

 

Secretary Sonny Perdue authorized schools to now serve flavored 1% milk in the school lunch and breakfast programs, but Wisconsin’s Ag Secretary says there’s no guarantee it will be served to children.

Ben Brancel tells Brownfield people must stay engaged with local school boards and food service managers, who decide what is on the local menus. “I’m not convinced that schools are automatically going to go to 1% because somebody said so or that flavored milks will be offered because somebody said you can now that it’s an allowable product in the school lunch program.  It still means the local districts decide whether you will serve it or not.”

Before last week, the USDA’s lunch and breakfast program only allowed unflavored 1% milk, flavored and unflavored skim milk, and unflavored fat-free, low-fat lactose-reduced and lactose-free milk.

Brancel is pleased with the new direction the federal school lunch program is taking with milk but says it might take a while to bring back 2% and whole milk to schools.  Brancel says taking those products off the menu was a mistake.  “I would be surprised if anybody could tie obesity back to whole milk consumption when I know how many gallons of whole milk were consumed in the 50’s and 60’s, and what the obesity rate was then versus what it is now.”

Brancel says he supports having flavored milks, like chocolate milk, on school menus because it helps get nutritious dairy products into more kids.

The changes to the school lunch program were outlined in a proclamation by Perdue May 1^st.