Parents Can Now Ask Schools to Serve Soymilk

A press release from the Soyfoods Association of North America alerted parents to new rules from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced parents or legal guardians may request, in writing, soymilk as an alternative to cow's milk for children receiving National School Lunch and Breakfast Program meals. This change caters to the growing diversity of participants in the School Nutrition Programs and allows children with lactose intolerance, dairy allergies or cultural diet restrictions to have an alternative source of calcium at school mealtime.

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Recognizing the need for alternative calcium sources and low-calorie nutrient sources, USDA has included fortified soymilk in food supplement programs such as the Women, Infant, and Children Supplemental Food Packages and now the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program. The USDA Food Pyramid for Young Children also identifies soymilk as an alternative to dairy milk. The Institute of Medicine report, Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools, recommends fortified soymilk be offered as a source of calcium for school children of all ages.