Madison – Representative Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) and Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) introduced the Butter in Our Schools Act to prohibit schools from serving margarine instead of butter.
Wisconsin proudly touts the nickname “The Dairy State” with a long history of supporting the dairy industry. A famous example of this is a statute that prohibits restaurants from serving margarine as a substitute for butter unless the customer specifically orders it. However, no such statute exists for schools to prevent margarine from being served as a substitute for butter in school lunches.
“After attending a local Farm Bureau meeting, I was shocked to hear a local school was no longer serving butter with lunches, but instead an artificial alternative with a long list of ingredients,” said Novak. “After hearing this, Senator Marklein and I decided to draft this legislation to ensure our schools are not replacing dairy products with unhealthy alternatives in school lunches.”
“Serving margarine instead of butter is unacceptable, especially in a farming community,” Marklein said. “This common-sense legislation recognizes the hard work of our farmers and aligns our school districts with this provision in state law.”
This proposal prohibits schools from serving margarine as a substitute for butter in school lunches. To accommodate for students with dairy allergies or intolerances, a student’s parent or guardian can request an exception to this requirement. Additionally, this proposal prohibits the use of margarine as a substitute for butter in the preparation of school lunches. A student’s parent or guardian can also acquire an exception to this requirement by obtaining a doctor’s note.
The bill is currently being circulated for co-sponsorship and will be formally introduced in the legislature later in November.
Rep. Novak can be reached at (608) 237-9151 or by email at Rep.Novak@legis.wisconsin.gov. Additional information on Rep. Novak can be found at his website RepNovak.com.
Sen. Marklein can be reached at (608) 208-0703 or by email at Sen.Marklein@legis.wisconsin.gov. Additional information on Sen. Marklein can be found on his website https://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/17/marklein
