RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – The International Dairy Food Association is pledging to eliminate Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 in milk, cheese, and yogurt products sold to K-12 schools for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs beginning during the 2026-2027 school year.

However, the Washoe County School District already has a different approach. “We’ve been fortunate because we have not had to deal with that and it won’t really have an impact on us,” said Daniel Pimm, the Food Service Director.

The Washoe County School District’s Nutrition program is mandated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which means it all meals must meet a nutritional guideline. “We make sure that we serve a protein, a grain, fruits, vegetables and milk with all of the meals we serve to our kids. Both for breakfast and for lunch,” said Primm.

The school district serves 43,000 students each day and it abides by the State’s wellness policy that does not allow caffeine or chewing gum. The district monitors serving sizes and avoids artificial food colorings in dairy products. “General Mills and Kellogg’s use fruit and vegetable dye to color their cereals. Our current provider, Model Dairy, uses all natural coco in their chocolate and beat juice in their strawberry milks.” Pimm says some breakfast cereals like Trix, Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms used to have artificial coloring to make the food more enticing.

The Food Service Director says the same goes for cheese. “Also American cheese used to use an artificial coloring, but now they use an extract from a seed from the Achiote tree.”

Pimm says the district prioritizes nutritious meals for its students so that they can learn and test well in the classrooms.

You can view the District’s Food at School policy here.

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