Episode 43: The Dairy Difference: Advocating for Better School Meals With Smart Swaps

DMI's Katie Bambacht, Vice President of Nutrition Affairs at the National Dairy Council, speaks with DMI's Scott Wallin about how the checkoff is working directly with schools to improve school lunches (with dairy being front and center) by collaborating with the School Nutrition Association. Katie explains that nearly 30 million students participate in school meal programs daily, with dairy providing significant nutrients, while emphasizing the critical role of school meals in addressing food insecurity and improving academic performance. She also covers the "Made with School Lunch" campaign, which aims to change perceptions of school meals, and the "Smart Swaps" initiative, which helps schools meet evolving USDA standards while maintaining dairy offerings. The discussion also touches on the potential of whole milk in schools and future projects with the School Nutrition Association. To learn more about the national dairy checkoff and your local dairy checkoffs, please visit dairycheckoff.com. Host & Guest: · Host: Scott Wallin, Vice President of Farmer Communications & Media Relations, Dairy Management Inc. · Guest: Katie Bambacht, Vice President of Nutrition Affairs, National Dairy Council

You can listen to Episode 43: The Dairy Difference: Advocating for Better School Meals With Smart Swaps online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 43: The Dairy Difference: Advocating for Better School Meals With Smart Swaps is an episode from Dairy on the Air by Don Schindler.

This episode is 18:42 long.

This episode was published on Nov 11, 2025.

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