Congressman Troy Carter Calls for Equity at the Lunch Counter, Pushes USDA to Provide Soy Milk in Schools

NEW ORLEANS, L.A.  – Last week, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. led thirty other members of Congress on a letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack calling for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make soy milk available in schools. It also requests that the Equity Commission at USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) reassess the milk program and provide a new Civil Rights Impact Analysis (CRIA).

In 2020, USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans annual report recognized soy milk as being nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk, opening the door to expand access to cow’s milk alternatives in schools. This is especially important because high rates of minority children, particularly Black, Latino, Native American, and Asian-American, are lactose intolerant. It is estimated that 65 percent of Latino students, 75 percent of Black students, and 90 percent of Asian students unable to digest dairy milk without detrimental effect.

“America needs to embrace its diversity at the school lunch counter,” writes Congressman Carter and his fellow signatories. “This is especially important because large numbers of minority children are lactose intolerant and experience adverse health effects simply because, in practice, dairy is the only type of milk offered in schools. We’d like to work together to ensure the health and nutritional needs of all our nation’s school children. We also believe an awareness campaign about lactose intolerance and maldigesting is essential, so that kids can more readily make food choices that will improve their health, wellness, and school performance.”

Current law states schools can only be reimbursed for school lunches by the milk rate – requiring that a carton of milk is included on each lunch tray. Because of this, there is a “milk note” requirement that students must produce a doctor’s note if they choose not to accept traditional milk with their lunch. Since the rates of lactose intolerance in BIPOC communities are startlingly high, the letter raises the issue that this requirement causes equity concerns, as it places an unfair burden onto minority children and their families.

The letter continues to highlight that the “milk note” approach not only doesn’t benefit the students, but it also fills lunchroom garbage bins with unopened containers of milk. A USDA report in 2019 calculated the value of unopened, discarded milk at $300 million annually – this is money that would be better spent providing nutritious sustenance to our kids.

“The reality is, millions of kids across America’s schools are given milk on their lunch trays that will make them feel sick, or that will immediately be discarded” said Congressman Troy Carter. “It’s time that our school lunches reflect the reality that many of our children, including the majority of Black, Asian, and Hispanic kids, are lactose intolerant. By providing a nutritionally-equivalent substitute such as soy milk, we can help keep our kids healthier, full, and decrease food waste. I look forward to working with Secretary Vilsack and the USDA to help bring equity to our nation’s lunch counters.”

Along with Congressman Troy Carter (La.), the letter was also signed by: Ted W. Lieu (Calif.), Nanette Diaz Barragán (Calif.), Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Bennie G. Thompson (Miss.), Peter A. DeFazio (Ore.). Ro Khanna (Calif.), André Carson (Ind.), Veronica Escobar (Texas), Nikema Williams (Ga.), Marc A. Veasey (Texas), J. Luis Correa (Calif.), Seth Moulton (Mass.), Katie Porter (Calif.), James P. McGovern (Mass.), Debbie Dingell (Mich.), Mark DeSaulnier (Calif.), Mike Quigley (Ill.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Tony Cárdenas (Calif.), Judy Chu (Calif.), Mondaire Jones (Ny.), Susan Wild (Pa.), Andy Levin (Mich.), Ed Case (Hawaii), Michael F. Q. San Nicolas (Guam), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (N.J.), Marie Newman (Ill.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (Texas), and Bobby L. Rush (Ill.).

Several advocacy organizations have also endorsed the effort to offer soy milk alternatives in school lunches or have written to the USDA Racial Equity Commission, including The Center for a Humane Economy, Animal Wellness Action, Switch4Good, National Urban League, and the National Action Network.

“The stated purpose of the National School Lunch Program is to serve kids with foods to promote health and aid learning,” said Wayne Pacelle, President of The Center for a Humane Economy and Animal Wellness Action. “But the USDA has been using the program as a marketing and profit-making opportunity for the dairy industry and denying choice to kids to consume nutritious beverages that don’t make them sick. Rep. Carter deserves plaudits for initiating a campaign see food-assistance programs help kids, not hurt them.”

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