Sometimes we need to be happy with baby steps.

Slow progress can be so frustrating. That’s why I like to use paint when I do the occasional redecoration in my house – it’s instant progress and I get an instant reward, provided I chose the right color.

That kind of instant gratification almost never happens in the halls of Congress. But there is hope; legislation has been introduced in Congress called the School Milk Nutrition Act of 2017.

In short, if this bill passed, it would change the school lunch guidelines to allow for low-fat and fat-free milk, including flavored milk with no more than 150 calories in 8-ounce servings, in the federal school lunch and breakfast programs. This would make the USDA’s administrative changes from earlier this year permanent.

The bill also includes a pilot program for schools to test strategies for increasing milk consumption, such as improvements in packaging, merchandising and refrigeration.

My first question is, why did Congress feel the need to take flavored milk and full-fat milk out of the schools in the first place? It’s a proven fact that kids need fat for the correct development of their brain. Why not get it in one of nature’s most perfect foods?

And if kids overwhelmingly chose flavored milk over white milk in schools to begin with and they were consuming a daily 8-ounce serving of milk, why in heaven’s name would you take it out?

Yes, we know why. Folks in charge who like to follow the trends of whatever the latest blogger came up with, in regard to good nutrition, regardless of its scientific validity or sound research, made loud clanging noises that scared everyone into believing their agenda. Thus, they took the bait – hook, line and sinker – and believed that the fat and sugar in milk served in one 8-ounce portion at school was to blame for childhood obesity.

With this train of thought, you can conclude that parents have no influence on children. Tell that to the kindergarten teacher who just heard a 5-year-old use a curse word.

Once again, the loud minority of people who think that milk, fat and flavor are not good for our kids were able to swing the pendulum over to the extreme side that ended in lower milk consumption in schools, and now we have to work to get it back.

I’m thankful for this legislation and I know I need to be thankful for the baby steps that are happening to get flavored milk back in public schools, but it’s difficult to be patient when all I really want to say is, “If you hadn’t taken it away in the first place …”

Let’s be thankful for what we have; but, let’s also be careful not to lower our goals and expectations.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.