Senate confirms Brooke Rollins as USDA SecretarySenate confirms Brooke Rollins as USDA Secretary

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Brook Rollins to be the new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary and state lawmakers are starting to make decisions on slew of school nutrition bills that have been introduced at the state level. 

Here’s the latest in school nutrition legislation. 

Brooke Rollins confirmed as USDA Secretary 

President Donald Trump’s pick the lead the USDA Brooke Rollins has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. 

As USDA Secretary, Rollins will oversee federal child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch Program. 

Little is known about her stance on school nutrition, but during her confirmation hearing, Rollins committed to remove ultra-processed food from school meals. Rollins graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural development. She later received her law degree from the University of Texas. During Trump’s first term as president, she served as director of the Domestic Policy Council and as assistant to the president for intergovernmental and technology initiatives.

“It is the honor of a lifetime to serve as the nation’s thirty-third Secretary of Agriculture — and a privilege beyond description to have the trust of President Donald J. Trump, and the opportunity to advance his agenda. I am thrilled to lead the United States Department of Agriculture and to serve the people of this country,” Rollins said in a statement. “Every day, I will fight for American farmers, ranchers, and the agriculture community. Together, we have an historic opportunity to revitalize rural America and to ensure that U.S. Agriculture remains the best in the world for generations to come.”

Arkansas universal free breakfast bill awaits governors signature 

An Arkansas bill that would provide free breakfast to all public school students in the state now awaits the governors signature. 

Senate bill 59 has passed both the state House and Senate and was sent to Governor Sarah Huckabee’s desk. 

If signed into law, the bill would go into effect during the 2025-26 school year. Arkansas would join Pennsylvania in offering universal free school breakfast. 

Federal Whole Milk Bill takes a step toward becoming law 

A federal bill that would allow whole milk to be served in school meals has passed one of its first hurdles to becoming law. 

H.R. 649 has passed out of the House committee on Education and Workforce. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate.

Currently, only low-fat or fat free milk is allowed to be served in schools. It can be flavored or unflavored. 

This is the latest attempt by federal lawmaker to get whole milk back in school meals. In 2023, the U.S. House passed The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2023, which would allow schools to serve whole milk, however, it was blocked in the Senate. 

Wyoming lawmakers kill bill that would have required state to participate in SUN Bucks

A bill introduced in Wyoming that would have that would have required the state to provide nutrition assistance for low-income students over the summer months has failed to pass. 

The House voted 25-34 to kill H.B. 341 which would have required participation in the USDA’s SUN Bucks Program. 

Originally known as Summer EBT, SUN Bucks gives households in states that opt in to the program $120 per child during the summer to be used on food during the summer months when school is out of session. 

Utah universal free school meals bill fails to pass 

Another universal free school meals bill has bitten the dust. Utah lawmakers failed to pass S.B. 173, which would have provided free for all public school students in the state. 

The Senate Education Committee voted 4-3 to not advance the bill. While Utah’s universal free school meals bill is dead, several other states currently have active universal free school meals bills, including Alaska, Missouri and Oregon.