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The U.S. Department of Agriculture will offer Greek yogurt as a meat alternative in school lunches nationwide, starting in September. The decision follows a test in 12 states where students showed strong demand for the protein-rich food. Chobani Inc. lab technicians Cindy Murphy (left) and Denise Signor are shown in June 2011 reviewing results from a variety of yogurt products at the company's plant in New Berlin, Chenango County.
(Frank Ordonez / The Post-Standard, 2011)
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture will offer Greek yogurt as a meat alternative in school lunches nationwide this fall, after a successful 12-state test with Chobani and a Buffalo supplier.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was informed of the USDA's decision by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The move is expected to provide a boost in Greek yogurt sales for Upstate New York yogurt manufacturers, and help the New York dairy farms that supply the companies.
Led by Chobani, the Empire State has become the nation's leading supplier of Greek yogurt.
Chobani, based in Norwich in Chenango County, is the No.1-selling Greek yogurt brand in the United States. The company records more than $1 billion in annual sales and employs more than 2,000 people.
The USDA decided to make Greek yogurt a permanent part of its national school lunch program after a pilot program concluded the protein-rich food has nutritional value -- and that there's sufficient demand from school children.
The USDA started its pilot program in 2013 in four states -- New York, Arizona, Idaho and Tennessee -- where Greek yogurt was offered as a protein option in the federal school lunch program.
Encouraged by the results, the USDA expanded the program this school year to include 12 states, adding California, Iowa, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Vermont, Washington and Mississippi.
Chobani won the contract to supply seven of the states. The Buffalo-based Upstate Niagara Cooperative supplied Greek yogurt to schools in Arizona.
Schumer had pushed USDA to expand the program nationwide if the test results were successful. Now Greek yogurt will be a permanent item on the national school lunch program.
The USDA agreed in January 2013 to classify Greek yogurt as an acceptable protein, or meat substitute, because Greek yogurt has about twice the protein of regular yogurt.
The USDA will accept bids from potential Greek yogurt suppliers for the 2015-2016 school year. In addition to Chobani and Upstate Niagara, other Greek yogurt-makers in New York are Fage, Alpina and Muller Quaker.
Schumer said the USDA's decision "is a nutritional benefit to our kids, an affordable option for local school boards and a boon to New York dairy farmers and yogurt producers."
Robert Post, Chobani's senior director of nutrition and regulatory affairs, said the company is thrilled by the success of USDA's pilot program.
"Providing students with affordable, delicious, nutritious food made with only natural ingredients is one of the most important things we can do as a company," Post said, "and the success of the pilot is a testament to the growing popularity of Greek yogurt and USDA's recognition of the value of Greek yogurt as part of a healthy meal for kids."
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