As new USDA school meal standards bring tighter limits on added sugars and sodium, Dairy MAX and Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) are leading the way to ensure dairy remains a trusted, essential part of school nutrition.
Smart Swaps is a nationwide hub of recipes, tools and training designed to help schools meet evolving guidelines and inspire delicious, nutrient-rich choices for students.
This collaboration supports schools and safeguards dairy’s place in meals that fuel millions of students every day. For farmers, this work not only protects one of the most important sales channels but also reinforces dairy’s critical role in delivering the nutrition kids need to learn and grow.
Smart Swaps showcases the checkoff at its best. With national leadership from DMI, fueled by the creativity and innovation of state and regional teams like Dairy MAX, the program delivers a united response schools can trust, ensuring that every farmer’s 15 cents are working as efficiently and effectively as possible to support both kids’ health and dairy’s future.
New Standards Bring New Opportunities for Dairy
The USDA’s final rule on school meals includes several notable changes that directly affect dairy offerings beginning in the 2027–28 school year:
- Added sugars must be limited to no more than 10 percent of total weekly calories.
- Sugar limits now apply to flavored milk. Flavored milk served in the Dairy MAX region already meets the USDA’s proposed 10-gram added sugar limit per serving.
- Sodium reductions are being phased in across all meals.
With these changes, schools face adjustments, but they also gain a powerful opportunity to lean on dairy as a trusted solution. Dairy foods not only meet the standards but continue to provide the nutrient-rich options students enjoy.
Smart Swaps: Practical Dairy Tools Schools Can Use Today
Smart Swaps equips schools with practical, ready-to-use tools:
- 25 kid-approved recipes featuring milk, yogurt and cheese
- Full nutrient analysis and crediting documentation
- Step-by-step photo preparation guides
- Sample menus built around dairy
- Training videos and support resources
“We work closely with schools every day, and they’re hungry for support,” said Becky Richardson, vice president of partner and program growth. “With Smart Swaps, we’re not just telling schools to keep dairy, we’re giving them the tools to do it confidently and compliantly.”
Expanding Access Through Technology Partnerships
Dairy MAX is partnering with nutrient analysis software companies to integrate Smart Swaps recipes and menu samples directly into the platforms schools already use for menu planning.
This collaboration will:
- Streamline access for school districts
- Support compliance with new USDA standards
- Simplify menu creation with ready-to-use, dairy-forward recipes
- Ultimately help keep dairy strong on school menus while driving student participation and satisfaction
By meeting schools where they are, Dairy MAX is making it even easier for districts to choose dairy every day.
Built for Compliance — Loved by Students
For more than a century, milk has been part of school meals because it fuels learning. Today, over 30 million students participate in school lunch daily, and for many, dairy provided in school meals represents the majority of their intake of 13 essential nutrients, from calcium and vitamin D to protein and potassium.
Smart Swaps wasn’t developed in isolation. It was shaped by students themselves. More than 2,500 students nationwide helped test 10 Smart Swaps menu offerings, providing direct input on flavor and format.
Top-performing recipes include:
Each Smart Swaps dish underwent nutritional analysis to meet USDA standards, proving dairy can be both delicious and regulation-ready.
Shared Innovation: Local Ideas, National Solutions
Smart Swaps highlights the strength of partnership across the checkoff. A recipe impact calculator developed by Dairy MAX was adopted by DMI and is now helping schools nationwide measure dairy content in their menus.
DMI recently hosted a national training to roll out Smart Swaps, complete with the calculator, to thousands of school nutrition professionals.
“Smart Swaps shows what’s possible when state and regional checkoff teams unite through DMI,” said Jennie McDowell, CEO of Dairy MAX. “Together we helped build this solution, and we’re keeping dairy on the tray in schools nationwide.”
Seven Dairy MAX employees proudly serve on the Federation Strategy Team, helping shape and implement Smart Swaps across the country. Dairy MAX has representation across every strategy area including menu creation, recipe development, culinary training, and marketing/communications, ensuring dairy’s story is told consistently and effectively from the kitchen to the classroom.
The National Dairy Council is hosting a School Nutrition Association (SNA) webinar on October 29, sharing insights and resources from Smart Swaps with school nutrition professionals nationwide.
The SNA represents approximately 50,000 members across the country, including food service directors, managers and industry partners. Engaging this influential network ensures dairy remains top-of-mind as schools navigate new meal standards and reinforces dairy’s role as both a compliant and beloved part of school meals.
Why This Matters for Farmers
Smart Swaps delivers value in four critical ways:
Defends dairy volume in a high-impact market.
School meals represent millions of daily servings and about 8 percent of the U.S.’s total milk supply. Keeping dairy integrated in compliant recipes protects steady, reliable demand.
Builds lifelong consumers.
When students enjoy a yogurt parfait or a cheesy breakfast pocket, and enjoy it, dairy becomes a preference, not just a commodity.
Enhances dairy’s reputation with decision-makers.
Nutrition directors and school administrators see dairy as a solution that fits modern standards.
Nourishes the next generation.
For many students, school meals provide more than half of their daily nutrients. Keeping milk and dairy on the tray ensures kids receive the fuel they need to grow and learn.
From Investment to Impact
Farmers often ask, “Where do my checkoff dollars go?”
They go here.
They go to programs like Smart Swaps, built collaboratively across DMI, Dairy MAX and fellow state and regional checkoffs, to defend dairy’s place where it matters most — in front of the next generation.
They go to tools like the recipe calculator, created by farmer-funded teams and now used nationwide.
They go to training, relationships and innovation that help schools say “yes” to dairy. And most importantly, they go to protecting dairy’s future.
Rules and standards may change, but dairy adapts, innovates and stands strong. Because dairy belongs on the tray – today, tomorrow and always.
