Durbin, Fischer Urge USDA To Swiftly Implement Their Bipartisan Protecting Children With Food Allergies Act

Durbin, Fischer Urge USDA To Swiftly Implement Their Bipartisan Protecting Children With Food Allergies Act

"Every parent should feel secure in knowing that their children are safe while they are at school," the Senators wrote in their letter to Secretary Rollins to adopt food allergy training for school personnel

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), both members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today sent a bipartisan letter to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins urging her to swiftly implement their recently passed Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act. The bill, which was passed as an amendment to the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, was signed into law in January.

"We write to urge your swift implementation of the Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act, which we authored and added as part of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, which President Trump signed into law on January 14, 2026," the Senators wrote.

The Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act requires food service staff at any school participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) to receive critical training about food allergies, equipping school service staff in preventing, recognizing, and responding to food allergic reactions.

"For many years, USDA also has made trainings available to educate school food personnel to recognize and prevent food allergies in students, but these trainings are optional, rather than required. The provisions included in our bill, the Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act, now make these food allergy training courses a requirement for all food personnel in schools participating in the NSLP and SBP," the Senators wrote.

The Senators concluded their letter by urging Secretary Rollins to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) current partners to implement these new trainings for food service staff at schools participating in NSLP and SBP without delay.

"Since USDA already partners with the Institute on Child Nutrition in developing optional training courses and materials to recognize and prevent food allergies, we urge USDA to move forward with implementing these mandatory food allergy training requirements without delay," the Senators concluded.

Food allergies are a growing public health concern. Over the past two decades, the number of children with food allergies in the U.S. has more than doubled. Approximately six million children are estimated to have food allergies, about two students per classroom. Further, 20 percent of all epinephrine shots administered in schools are given to children who have undiagnosed food allergies-which makes it even more important for school food personnel to understand how to recognize and respond to an allergic reaction.

Full text of the letter can be found here.

March 5, 2026

Secretary Rollins:

We write to urge your swift implementation of the Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act, which we authored and added as part of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, which President Trump signed into law on January 14, 2026.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires school food personnel under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) to undergo annual trainings, which includes courses in nutrition, health, and food safety standards. For many years, USDA also has made trainings available to educate school food personnel to recognize and prevent food allergies in students, but these trainings are optional, rather than required. The provisions included in our bill, the Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act, now make these food allergy training courses a requirement for all food personnel in schools participating in the NSLP and SBP.

Every child should have the opportunity to learn in a safe environment, and every parent should feel secure in knowing that their children are safe while they are at school. Yet, due to the presence of common food allergens-such as milk, eggs, and peanuts-we have seen too many tragic instances of students suffering fatal allergic reactions at school. In the past two decades, the rate of children with food allergies has more than doubled. In 1999, 3 percent of children had food allergies. Today, 8 percent of children, about two students per classroom, have food allergies.

Since USDA already partners with the Institute on Child Nutrition in developing optional training courses and materials to recognize and prevent food allergies, we urge USDA to move forward with implementing these mandatory food allergy training requirements without delay. We also request a staff briefing by USDA to provide our offices with an update on implementation of the Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act by May 1, 2026.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to working with you in creating a safer learning environment for all students.

Sincerely,

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