Episode 45 – What You Should Know About The 2025 Dietary Guidelines For Americans and Whole Milk In Schools

DMI’s Kuda Lamin-Bangura, Senior Vice President of Scientific Affairs, and Katie Bambacht, Vice President of Nutrition Affairs at the National Dairy Council, chat with DMI’s Scott Wallin about what the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which strongly affirm dairy’s role as an essential part of a healthy diet, recognizing milk, cheese, and yogurt at all fat levels—including whole milk—as beneficial.

Kuda and Katie also talk about the impact of the signing of the “Whole Milk for Healthy Kids” act after being signed into law by President Trump, and what effect it could have on school lunch programs.

Host & Guest:

• Host: Scott Wallin, Vice President of Farmer Communications & Media Relations, Dairy Management Inc.
• Guest: Kuda Lamin-Bangura, Senior Vice President of Scientific Affairs, National Dairy Council
• Guest: Katie Bambacht, Vice President of Nutrition Affairs, National Dairy Council

Transcript (AI-Generated, please ignore typos)

Your Dairy Checkoff Podcast 00:00

Scott, welcome to your Dairy Checkoff podcast from dairy management Inc, where Dairy Checkoff leaders and farmers share real stories, strategies and insights that grow sales and build trust for us dairy let's get started.

Scott Wallin 00:18

Welcome to another edition of the your dairy check off podcast. I'm Scott Wallen with dairy management Incorporated. And over the last few weeks, you have not had to look too far to see some great news and headlines for dairy. And with me today, I have two of my National Dairy Council colleagues to break it all down for us. First, I want to welcome Kuda Lamin Bangura. She is Senior Vice President of Scientific Affairs for National Dairy Council, and Katie bomb back, who's Vice President of Nutrition affairs for National Dairy Council, let's start with a quick background. What do you do for National Dairy Council?

Kuda Lamin-Bangura 00:53

I am Senior Vice President for Scientific Affairs, but I'm a registered dietitian, and part of my role is to work to translate and amplify Dairy Science that our nutrition research team works on as lead in Scientific Affairs, one of my roles is to ensure that we promote three servings of dairy in domestic and global food based dietary guidelines.

Scott Wallin 01:15

I'm excited to talk to you today. Katie, how about some background on you?

Katie Bambacht 01:18

Thanks, Scott. I serve as Vice President of Nutrition affairs for National Dairy Council. I'm also a registered dietitian and a school nutrition specialist, and in my role, I serve as a resource to the dairy community on USDA, federal feeding programs, and that includes school nutrition and school meal programs. I also lead our collaborative efforts with the School Nutrition Association and other key school nutrition partners.

Scott Wallin 01:46

You know, we talked about some of the great headlines, certainly, the new unveiling of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans happened not too long ago. What's before we get into some of the specifics. Can you talk about why the guidelines are so important

Kuda Lamin-Bangura 02:00

to dairy Yes, of course, Scott first dairy prominence as part of a food group and recommendations for consumption at all fat levels in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans affirms the role of dairy foods across the lifespan and as a health and wellness solution. And this is significant for public health. Dairy foods play an important role in helping Americans meet their nutrient needs and improving their overall diet quality. Milk, cheese and yogurt provide a combination of nutrients that many people don't get enough of, like complete protein, calcium, vitamin D and potassium, all foods that in foods that are familiar and affordable and easy to enjoy. Secondly, Scott, including dairy foods in the dietary guidelines is so important because this is the evidence base and the primary source of nutrition advice to promote health and prevent chronic disease, really helping Americans meet nutrient needs across all life stages, including dairy foods as part of a healthy eating pattern and a simplest way to ensure that we're supporting the public on their bone health, muscle health, immune function and cardio metabolic health across the lifespan. The Science also shows that regular dairy food intake is linked with lower risk of diet related chronic diseases such as heart disease and type two diabetes. At the end of the day, dairy foods remain an accessible and affordable, nutrient dense option for the population to choose from. And lastly, I'd like to just highlight that the dietary guidelines have far reaching impact, serving as the foundation for the US nutrition feeding assistance program such as SNAP WIC and the school national, school lunch and breakfast programs. In fact, federal feeding programs result in billions of pounds of milk and cheese going into these programs. And as already noted, most people have room to improve their consumption of dairy foods. So dietary guidelines recommending three servings of dairy foods ensures nutritious dairy foods are available in these feeding programs and helps nourish more Americans. In addition, the dietary guidelines here in the US not only impact what's happening with America, but also inform what's happening with the global food based dietary guidelines landscape.

Scott Wallin 04:15

Yeah, so no question, these guidelines have a true impact on our industry. So when it comes to the updating of these guidelines, can you talk a little bit more about what does National Dairy Council in the Chekhov overall do to prepare for this moment?

Kuda Lamin-Bangura 04:30

Well, Scott as check off, we are not able to actually attempt to influence any kind of policy, but what our role is in the dietary guidelines process is to really amplify the science. As you know, dairy farmers have invested years and years in research on dairy's role in health and wellness. So our role is to amplify that science in the context of the public process that takes place, whether it's submitting comments with our science to the Department of Health and Human Services and. In United States Department of Agriculture, or it's educating health and wellness professionals at key conferences and events on the role that dairy foods play in health and wellness. We usually have a multi pronged approach to ensuring that as and when needed, we amplify the science on dairy's role in health and wellness.

Scott Wallin 05:18

You don't want to get into the specifics of what it means for dairy. But before we go there, did you and your National Dairy Council colleagues pick up on an overriding theme or takeaway for the guidelines overall, did anything jump out at you?

Kuda Lamin-Bangura 05:33

Overall theme for the dietary guidelines is eat real food, which is exciting for us as dairy because dairy foods, milk cheese and yogurt, our whole foods that provide a nutritious and delicious package of nutrients and meet the needs of the our American population. What's exciting again in the conversation about eating real food is that we can amplify the role that dairy foods play in meeting the health and wellness needs of the population.

Scott Wallin 05:59

What does it mean for dairy? What do you see in these guidelines? That's great news for dairy.

Kuda Lamin-Bangura 06:04

What's exciting for dairy is there's a clear directive in the dietary guidelines, Scott consume dairy foods, and in that it's not only about consuming one type of dairy foods, but many options are provided in the dietary guidelines, in that they recommend consuming three servings of dairy food, but from a variety of sources. And also, what's exciting is the recognition that whatever the American population chooses, whether it's whole fat, low fat, reduced fat, dairy, lactose free or lower lactose containing, options, those are all included as recommendations within the dietary guidelines. And even more exciting is that dietary guidelines recognize the role of dairy foods and its unique nutrient package across the lifespan. At every life stage, there are clear recommendations in terms of what should be consumed in dairy foods and how they're beneficial for health and wellness.

Scott Wallin 06:58

You mentioned the variety of fat levels, and as National Dairy Council in a check off, we have always endorsed dairy is is nutritious at all fat levels. But what makes these guidelines unique is the inclusion of whole fat dairy and dairy foods. Can you talk a little bit more about just how significant that is to have all these fat levels of dairy recognized?

Kuda Lamin-Bangura 07:20

It's really great news Scott to have whole fat dairy foods recognized in the dietary guidelines because it gives people more choice to pick from, and an ability towards meeting those recommendation of three servings of dairy per day. The other good news is that nutrition science and consumer behavior increasingly are aligned around the idea that milk cheese and yogurt at all fat levels can place a healthy can have a place in a healthy plate and a balanced eating pattern.

Scott Wallin 07:48

Katie was pulling you into the conversation your work in schools, the whole milk for Healthy Kids Act, I gotta make sure I say that correctly, was signed in the legislation. Can we start with just your description of this act. What does this act mean?

Katie Bambacht 08:04

Thanks, Scott, and you're correct in the terminology. The whole milk for Healthy Kids Act was signed by President Trump on January 14 and 2026 and it allows schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to now offer a greater variety of milk options, including whole and reduced fat milk, along with organic milk, and also non dairy beverages that meet nutrition equivalency standards. And this is in addition to the current offerings that they can allow right now, as far as low fat, fat free, flavored and unflavored, along with lactose free milk, and along with, you know, expanding these milk options, the bill continues to require schools offer fluid milk with every meal served. It also maintains the current law that requires that one more than one variety must be offered to students, so at minimum two options, and this is up to the school to decide what two varieties they want to provide to students. The bill also exempts milk from being counted toward the 10% limit on calories from saturated fat across a week's worth of meals, which is really important when you think about inclusion of a higher fat milk option. That that exemption is there to help schools support them and including it in their menus. And lastly, the bill continues to require schools to provide milk substitutes for students who have a disability, and these students require a certification from either a parent, a legal guardian or a physician, and previously, only a physician was allowed or would qualify to provide a certification. So this bill expands the allowance to allow parents and legal guardians to provide a substitution request. So overall, this expansion gives schools greater flexibility to. Meet diverse student needs and preferences while better aligning school milk offerings with what students consume at home, which is a point that could have made earlier, but they're still meeting the USDA nutrition standards that schools are required to comply with in order to receive reimbursement for the meals that they serve through their program.

Scott Wallin 10:19

When we talk about implementation requirements, what does that look like, and what does that mean? Yeah.

Katie Bambacht 10:25

Well, shortly after the bill was passed, USDA Food and Nutrition Services, who oversees the school nutrition programs, they issued implementation guidance to schools, and also several state agency also communicated guidance to their local school districts. And it's important to note that this guidance is specific to the National School Lunch Program only, and it makes offering, again, whole and 2% milk an option and not requirement. And with any regulatory changes school meals, there are several logistical factors that go into that decision making process at the local level, including product availability, product cost, student acceptance, along with menu nutrient standards, and to provide more context, or to give an example, before adding a higher fat milk option to a school milk bid, a school will likely assess student interest, and they could do that either through a survey, student survey, or maybe even a taste test. The school will then reach out to their local milk supplier and see if they're able or willing to provide a higher fat milk product. They'll talk about cost, and again, that price must align with what the school nutrition department, where their budget is and what they can bring in from a cost standpoint. And I mentioned earlier, you know that saturated fat is excluded from the nutrient analysis, but other nutrients, like calories, must still fit in with the overall menu requirements. So while schools have the option to include higher fat milk options right now, there are several considerations that are important in determining whether and how it's implemented within each individual school building.

Scott Wallin 12:11

You and your National Dairy Council colleagues are working on a school pilot to assess whole milk in schools. Can you kind of walk us through what that pilot is? Sure?

Katie Bambacht 12:20

Well, our strategy is really proactive, and it's also driven by research. So we can help prepare the dairy industry for these evolving school nutrition regulations by developing testing and also communicating some evidence based approaches that demonstrate the value and feasibility of introducing higher fat milk options in schools, and to do that, we need to build a business case to demonstrate the operational and nutritional feasibility of offering whole and 2% milk and school meal programs. And we are currently in the weeds of planning those pilot tests right now, and we're doing that in collaboration with our dairy processors, along with local dairy check off programs and school districts, and these pilots will roll out in two phases. Phase one will be occurring this spring in two schools, and we will test student selection of milk options. So how many students come through the line and select a higher fat milk option. And then we're also going to look at average daily participation. So are more students participating in the program now that a higher fat milk option is offered? And then Phase two will be coming in fall of 2026 and that will be expanded to four schools. So we'll have six schools in total, about four schools in the fall, where we're going to explore, again, student selection of milk options along with average daily participation. But in the fall, we're going to be adding in a milk waste study, so looking at what the children are consuming and how much is being wasted. And hopefully we'll see that, you know, we're wasting less with offering additional products that maybe are more palatable or that students may prefer. So all this amazing pilot data will be available in December of 2026 and we're going to have efforts to amplify these pilot results ramping up in early 2027 which is ahead of the spring bid season, which is when schools will go out to bid for their school milk for the next school year. So we have a whole plan in place to conduct the pilots, analyze the data, and then also share the results out ahead of school year.

Scott Wallin 14:35

2728 could I want to come back to you through your lens as a dietitian, I want to talk whole milk and whole milk dairy foods, health benefits. Obviously, you've spent probably a good amount of time dispelling some of the misperceptions people may have about whole milk and whole milk dairy foods. Can you kind of talk about the benefits, though, that people need to understand

Kuda Lamin-Bangura 14:56

milk as well as cheese and yogurt at all fat levels? Apply the same benefits regardless of the amount of fat. Milk provides 13 essential nutrients. There's a growing body of evidence that continues to show that nutrient dense dairy foods like milk cheese and yogurt at all fat levels, can contribute to health across the lifespan. Our emerging evidence also suggests that including whole milk and other full of fat dairy foods may help support satiety and nutrient absorption and other protective heart health benefits. What's even more encouraging is that both the science and the consumer behavior are moving in the same direction towards balance and a variety and an understanding that many ways that dairy foods can contribute to overall health and well being.

Scott Wallin 15:48

You know, Katie through your your school lens, as well as a diet dietitians lens, what? What gets you excited when you think about the opportunity for kids to consume whole milk at schools, I'm

Katie Bambacht 15:58

excited because ultimately, it comes down to the student and school meals, helping support them in their growth and their development and providing them the nutrition that they need to learn while they're in the school building. And we know that milk, as could have mentioned, it's a really important source of nutrients that and many kids don't get enough of certain key nutrients that are found in milk, like calcium, vitamin D and potassium, and for many children, especially those who participate in the school meal programs, most of their daily dairy food consumption comes from the milk and the dairy foods offered at schools. And so by offering you know potential wider variety of milk options, including whole milk schools can help students meet their nutrient needs and encourage additional participation in school milk programs.

Scott Wallin 16:48

You know, could I want to finish the conversation with talking about this great legacy in research National Dairy Council has had for decades and decades, but whole milk dairy foods research has been a big part of what you and your team does. Can you just take a moment to kind of reflect a little bit on the history that National Dairy Council has had in on researching whole milk and its benefits?

Kuda Lamin-Bangura 17:13

I want to be very clear, Scott the good news that we have on whole milk and whole milk dairy foods, like yogurt cheese in the dairy dietary guidelines is due in part to us, dairy farmers, investment over several decades in science to discover the health and wellness benefits of dairy products. Chekhov has supported more than 80 studies on whole milk and dairy foods made from whole milk foods, and that's prompted others researchers to also study the same areas, and we have third party researchers building a very large body of evidence around the same topic. The science on the health benefits of dairy foods like milk cheese and yogurt at all fat levels has been mounting up for the past decades, and with these new dietary guidelines encouraging dairy foods at all fat levels, it's really an opportunity to offer those options, whether, again, it's low fat, fat free, lactose free, or reduced fat, lactose dairy, milk and dairy foods, there's more choices and flexibility that allow people to meet their own tastes and personal preferences as well as their health needs.

Scott Wallin 18:18

I want to thank both of you for today's conversation, I know our dairy farmers and importers who fund the check off will be very excited to hear these insights from you so many thanks to both of you.

Your Dairy Checkoff Podcast 18:29

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