U.S. Senator Charles Schumer announced Wednesday that schools can soon say they have New York Greek yogurt on the lunch menu.

Schumer said that he successfully petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to increase the availability of New York-made Greek yogurt in school meal programs in the state and potentially across the country.

In a letter to Senator Schumer, the USDA committed to initiating a pilot program that is expected to place Greek yogurt in schools across the country as early as April 2013.

Specifically thanks to Schumer’s June 2012 efforts, the USDA initiated this process, which will first increase school’s access to Greek yogurt on a pilot basis.

If successful, this could become a permanent part of the USDA foods list for schools nationwide, and could lay the groundwork to create a separate crediting standard for strained yogurt – also known as “Greek” yogurt – to reflect its higher protein content.

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