Got whole milk? Cheney Public Schools’ menu to offer fattier dairy option amid federal rule change

Pesto flatbread coho salmon sandwiches, teriyaki salmon rice bowls, beef chili made from Washington cows, fresh bison, chicken curry – all meals that have been cooked and served from cafeterias at Cheney Public Schools, designed by executive chef LJ Klinkenberg to meet the complex matrix of nutritional requirements set by the federal government and also taste good to kids.

“I want food to be fun,” he said.

It brings the American Academy of Chefs inductee great pride to serve lunches that “push the envelope” for what one may expect to find on a student’s lunch tray.

Still, his mind wanders when he imagines how much yummier his meals could be with a little bit of full-fat dairy, something previously inconceivable under federal school meal regulations. What if he could use full-fat yogurt in the “wonderful” chicken curry recipe recently served in Cheney High School, instead of a nonfat substitute?

“That richness in that sauce would just have made it so much better,” he said.

In January, President Donald Trump signed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, allowing whole milk to once again be served with school lunches. It’s in alignment with the administration’s recent restructuring of the food pyramid under the “Make American Healthy Again” agenda.

The law doesn’t apply to other dairy products like yogurt or butter, but Klinkenberg expects more flexibility in crafting his menus. Whole milk will likely make its return to Cheney schools, maybe as soon as this spring, he said.

The Obama administration’s Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act from 2010 limited milk served in schools to low-fat and fat-free milk in an effort to combat childhood obesity. Klinkenberg was “in the trenches” during this transition, working as a consultant for schools with the Empire Health Foundation.

Now, his job in Cheney has him playing “Rubik’s Cube,” designing menus for schools that meet federal regulations.

Per the U.S. Department of Agriculture, districts are required to keep track of the saturated fat, calories and sodium content served in school meals. They’re not to exceed certain limits in these categories over the course of a week. The updated rules allow districts to exclude milk from their weekly totals of saturated fat content, opening the door for districts to offer cartons of whole milk without having to consider saturated fat in their weekly tallies. Calories and sodium in whole milk still count.

Cheney gives kids a choice of 1% and nonfat white milk at every grade level. High schoolers also get the option of a nonfat chocolate milk, a novelty that comes out only on Fridays for younger students.

Last year, kids in Cheney went through 3,500 half-pint-sized cartons a day among all three kinds of milk they serve. It’s an annual cost of around $400,000, Klinkenberg said.

With some 5,000 kids eating a meal at school each day, that means 1,500 are forgoing milk all together. That’s concerning to Klinkenberg, who said those kids are missing out on the protein and calcium the drink provides.

“We want our kids to be hydrated,” Klinkenberg said. “Sometimes the only calcium these kiddos get is with us.”

Many drink fattier milk at home, so the version offered at all public schools tastes like “water milk,” Klinkenberg said kids have told him.

East Valley High School senior Camryn Petersen likened the taste to cardboard.

“I hear people say it just tastes like the carton,” she said.

Klinkenberg said he “guarantees” more kids would take whole milk if he offered it.

“It’s going to give that opportunity to kids that may not be drinking their milk and getting the right amount of calcium because they don’t like it,” Klinkenberg said. “They don’t like it because it is ‘watery milk’; it doesn’t do much for them.”

Spokane Public Schools does not plan on offering whole milk at meal times, considering how introducing it could affect other nutritional content requirements, said district spokesperson Ryan Lancaster. The district serves 9,000 to 10,000 cartons each day, accounting for a total 530,000 cartons of 1% white milk and 1.1 million cartons of nonfat chocolate milk last year. It costs around $530,000, Lancaster said.

Students throw away “very little” milk, Lancaster said, estimating 97 to 99% of what the district buys is consumed.

Cheney’s Klinkenberg said the nutritional benefit to drinking whole milk, which contains around 3% milk fat, varies depending on the person. For kids busy studying and playing in school, the extra “healthy fat,” he said, can help their bodies hold on to the energy food provides for longer.

“It will help the energy, and it will be that better combination of food to sustain them between meals,” he said.

The Trump administration has embraced whole milk, despite conflicting scientific opinions on whether it is healthier than dairy with less saturated fat.

In a September news conference, USDA secretary Brooke Rollins listed whole-fat dairy as a “healthy and nutritious food” that should be prioritized in health guidance.

Scientists and medical professionals were quick to respond. The group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine called on the administration to rescind their allowance on whole milk in schools and push for more fruits, vegetables, whole grain and legumes instead of meat and dairy.

“Research shows that early signs of heart disease, high cholesterol, and other indicators of cardiovascular disease are appearing in children with increasing frequency,” a statement from the nonprofit read. “Forcing full-fat whole dairy milk back into schools will only cause further health problems.”

Saturated fat is widely cited as contributing to a rise in cholesterol levels in blood, which can increase the risk of heart disease or stroke, according to the Mayo Clinic.

The medical and scientific communities have yet to reach a consensus on whether the saturated fat content in whole milk raises cholesterol levels. Some studies suggest full-fat dairy doesn’t necessarily correlate an increase of cholesterol in blood, but more research is needed, according to the Mayo Clinic.

In the meantime, Klinkenberg has already purchased the first batch of shelf-stable whole milk for Cheney.

“We’re going to be able to maybe make that food just a little tastier,” he said.

Editor’s note: This story has been edited to correct that whole milk saturated fat content may affect ones cholesterol levels in blood.