New School Meal Regulations and Consumption of Flavored Milk in Ten US Elementary Schools, 2010 and 2013

Milk is a source of shortfall nutrients in children’s diets, but most children do not consume recommended amounts. We measured consumption of milk by elementary-schoolchildren (grades 3–5) in a diverse sample of schools before and after implementation of the US Department of Agriculture’s updated meal regulations requiring flavored milk to be fat-free. Flavored milk consumption did not change from 2010 to 2013; 52.2% of students in 2010 and 49.7% in 2013 consumed 7 ounces or more of an 8-ounce container. Updated regulations succeeded in lowering the amount of fat, added sugars, and calories in school milk but did not change overall milk consumption, thus improving children’s diet quality.