It's Bidding Time!! Cast your vote for the New Look of School Milk

2,533 schools in the Southeast have adopted the New Look of School Milk (NLSM), will you? Ken Yant, Director of School Nutrition Programs for Gwinnett County School System, GA explains the benefits of serving milk in plastic bottles for his district.

“Working within our wellness policy we consistently strive to offer higher quality products and the New Look of School Milk fulfills that goal. Now students are having fun drinking milk, getting more calcium and vitamin D. This is what’s best for our students, first and foremost.”

Bid season is about to begin! Now is the perfect time to look into getting the NLSM for your school meal program and experience increased milk sales and consumption. NLSM's successful formula has generated sustained nutritional returns by serving students a nutrient-rich beverage they also find appealing and great tasting. Only 30% of school children consume the recommended Milk Group servings. NLSM helps make milk "cool to drink," and turns it into an appealing option that students choose and consume.

Are you concerned about the increased costs of an enhanced milk program? Many school nutrition professionals have found that the NLSM pays for itself through increased milk sales and increased milk sales and increased meal and a la carte participation.

Now there's an easy-to-use New Look of School Milk Financial Calculator tool to help you see how this enhanced milk program can work for you. Click here for the Calculator.  Schools who switch to NLSM on their meal lines can qualify for free cow spotted glass milk merchandisers.

How do you ask your local dairy processor for milk in plastic bottles? The first step is to download our Bidding Milk in Plastic Bottles document, procurement tips and sample bid language.  Remember, even if you had tried to get milk in plastic bottles before, it’s important to let processors know that you re still interested.

Contact your local SUDIA Program Manager for more information on how we can help you make the switch to plastic a reality.

We hope you have enjoyed the second edition of the SUDIA Dairy Delivers newsletter. Please send any questions or suggestions for content to Trequita Overton,
Communications Account Manager.

MAKE THE GRADE, Moms speak out on nutrition in schools

The National Dairy Council (NDC) conducted a survey with moms to address the issue of students receiving a variety of nutritious foods and beverages in schools.  The results are back and are exciting!  NDC gathered those results and developed a Parent Fact Sheet which is now available for your use.  

The key concerns included the missing vitamins and minerals in children's diets and the role parents and schools play in students eating habits. Do you want to know if your nutrition program makes the grade?

Did you know that:

1. 71% of moms think their children should consume at lest 3 servings of low-fat or fat-free milk or milk products each day

2. 97% of moms think it’s important that their child’s school offers healthy food options as part of school breakfast and/or school lunch.

3. 92% of moms agree that offering low-fat flavored milk in school cafeterias is a good idea

4. 75% of moms are likely to pay an extra 5-10 cents per container for their children’s school to offer healthy beverage  choices such as milk or water in appealing packaging if it leads to their child choose a healthy beverage

To learn more on the survey, click here or visit www.nutritionexplorations.org

Success in Recycling, Drink It Then Sink It

When milk is served cold and in plastic containers, kids will drink more of it.  What can be done with the containers afterwards?  Think green, recycle!  Milk bottles can provide the “critical mass” needed for a school or district to set up a recycling program.  Coated paper milk cartons are generally not recycled because there are few companies capable of recycling this type of material. Surprisingly cartons sent to landfills do not decompose easily. Let’s help in the effort to preserve our land and natural resources for years to come by taking the steps now to improve our environment.

School Districts all over SUDIA have joined in the effort and you will be amazed at how students are eager to recycle and support the program!  Here are a few success stories:

• Georgia- Forsyth County has a successful program that started with 5 pilot schools in 2006, each averaging 2-3 bags of plastic milk bottles a day.  This initiative connects teachers to contextual learning and recycling activities for students where local partners help to financially support the program.  By 2006-2007 Forsyth increased their school participation to include 17 elementary, 2 middle, and 3 high schools. Great Job Forsyth County!
• Tennessee- Knox County has 82 schools that joined in the movement.  The pilot program began with 12 schools in the spring of 2006 and expanded to 37 schools during 2006-2007.  A Sink It and Win contest was conducted with the top 5 schools winning a park bench made from recycled plastic. By May 2007, over 2 million plastic milk bottles were recycled! Way to go Tennessee!!
• Virginia-   The Virginia Beach City School System received the 2007 Virginia Recycling Association Award of Excellence and was recognized for its commitment to recycling with innovative and quality programs. Each classroom is equipped with a multi-purpose recycling bin. Why were they a success? During a school month, 700,000-800,000 plastic milk containers are recycled and for the 2006-07 school year, 859 tons of recyclable materials was collected! 

When a state, school, or district has a successful multi-material recycling program, their volume of trash is reduced, allowing for a reduction in trash pick-ups and waste disposal costs. Are you interested in joining the movement? For more information about recycling plastic milk bottles, contact your state’s SUDIA Program Manager or visit www.NutritionExplorations.org.

Louisiana
Linda Greco, LDN, RD
Program Account Manager
lgreco@sudiainc.com

Mississippi
Greta Heru, MS
Program Account Manager
gheru@sudiainc.com

North Carolina
Southern and Western North Carolina
Dottie Ryan, RD, LDN
Program Director
dryan@sudiainc.com

Northern and Eastern North Carolina
Laura Buxenbaum, MPH, RD, LDN
Program Account Manager
lbuxenbaum@sudiainc.com

South Carolina
Mickela Mitchell, MS, RD
Program Account Manager
mitchell@sudiainc.com

Tennessee
Western Tennessee
Greta Heru, MS
Program Account Manager
gheru@sudiainc.com

Middle Tennessee
Tracy Noerper, MS, RD, SNS
Program Account Manager
tnoerper@sudiainc.com

Eastern Tennessee
Jill Henderson, MS, RD, SNS
Program Account Manager
jhenderson@sudiainc.com

Virginia
Central and Eastern Virginia
Kristin Brittle, RD
Program Account Manager
kbrittle@sudiainc.com

Southwestern Virginia
Jill Henderson, MS, RD
Program Account Manager
jhenderson@sudiainc.com

Alabama
Jana Harland, RD, LD
Program Account Manager
jharland@sudiainc.com

Georgia
Linda Silverman, MS, RD, LD
School Program Account Manager
lsilverman@sudiainc.com

Molly Szymanski, MA, LD, SNS
Child Nutrition Director
mollys@sudiainc.com

Kentucky
Kathy Belcher, MA, CFCS
Program Director
kbelcher@sudiainc.com