By Shukun Wu
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is meant to be a school meal program that provides free or reduced meals to students. Growing up in a Chinese immigrant family, my parents didn’t have time to pack me breakfast and lunch every day, meaning that I was one of the millions of kids across the country who relied on these meals. Programs like these are meant to be inclusive, but the dairy requirements set by the NSLP excludes most East Asian students.
Lactose intolerance means that your body can’t break down lactose, a type of sugar found in dairy. According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of lactose intolerance can look like stomach discomfort and bloating, to diarrhea. In order for a meal to be included in the free or reduced school lunch program, it must meet standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—specifically requiring that the meal should include eight fluid ounces of fat-free or low-fat milk.
This is problematic since the National Library of Medicine (NIH) released a study showing that almost 90% of East Asians are lactose intolerant, making it borderline unethical to tell a child that they should drink eight ounces of milk as part of their meal knowing that they can’t digest it, leading to the previously described symptoms. In 2023, the Children’s Defense Fund estimated that there were four million Asian American children in the U.S. When a statistic like this is paired with the NIH study, it raises an alarming question: How many of our children are dealing with stomach discomfort as a result of taking advice from trusted federal agencies?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that soy products that are fortified with calcium, and vitamins A and D, can be included in the dietary guidelines since they are similar to milk in terms of nutrients. Based on this statement, you would think kids can easily access milk alternatives as long as it fits within the guidelines. But the USDA requires parents to show a doctor’s note confirming their child’s lactose intolerance. As of November 2025, changes to the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act are in progress. If these changes are passed into law, it will allow for schools to serve alternatives such as fortified soy milk for all students, taking away the doctor’s note requirement.
Locally, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) introduced an initiative called the “Taste of SPS” in 2022. This initiative brought a new rotation of culturally appropriate dishes for SPS students. If we are able to implement these types of changes effectively nationally, it would finally allow East Asian students to comfortably enjoy meals at school.
Shukun is an undergraduate student at the University of Washington School of Public Health.
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