WASHINGTON — 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.