News

Thousands of Children Receive Free School Milk to Celebrate National Dairy Week

On Monday 16th November, 42,622 children in 952 schools throughout the Republic of Ireland will have received their school milk free, in an initiative by National Dairy Council member co-ops to celebrate the start of National Dairy Week.

National Dairy Week, which starts from Monday 16th November, is an opportunity to highlight and celebrate the nutrient richness of dairy. Information for members of the public and a free on-line competition are available at www.ndc.ie.

The State normally funds free school milk to approximately 270 disadvantaged schools. The delivery of free school milk today by NDC members to a further 952 schools who are in the School Milk & Dairy Programme, means that a combined total of over 66,322 children in 1,222 schools throughout the country have been provided with one portion of their recommended ‘three dairy a day’ free of charge today.

The NDC initiative was co-ordinated with the significant support of 9 different dairies throughout the country:
Arrabawn Co-op, Centenary Thurles Co-op, Clona Dairy Products, Connacht Gold Co-op, Donegal Creameries, Glanbia Consumer Foods, Kerry, North Cork Co-op, Wexford Creamery

Dairy products provide an essential part of a healthy, balanced diet – and are particularly important for growing children and teenagers. Yet Irish research tells us that a significant proportion of teenagers do not have adequate calcium intake and additionally a survey commissioned by the NDC revealed that nearly one third of Irish adults (29%) do not consume the "three servings of dairy a day" recommended by the Irish Department of Health & Children for health and wellbeing (refs 1 & 2).

The School Milk and Dairy Programme, also known as the Fresh Milk Club, is a valuable way of ensuring that children benefit from a nutritional addition to their daily lunchboxes, which is also great value for money. "Children need all the encouragement they can get to switch to healthier snacking habits and to get back to the basics of the Food Pyramid with more regularly balanced diets," says Dr Catherine Logan, Nutrition Manager with the National Dairy Council.

The School Milk & Dairy Programme co-ordinated through the National Dairy Council has operated in the Republic of Ireland since 1982, making milk available to school children at a subsidised price and offering clear benefits for children in relation to the contribution of dairy towards a nutritious diet.

School Milk provided through NDC member dairies is also farmed and produced in the Republic of Ireland, helping to protect local dairy farmers and jobs in the dairy sector and supporting the NDC’s recent initiative to help shoppers identify locally produced milk or cream, with the introduction of the NDC packaging mark (Farmed in the Republic of Ireland).

Only pupils of participating schools can receive School Milk. To find out more visit www.thefreshmilkclub.ie or contact Tara McHugh, School Programme Manager, 01 6169726.

One ‘portion’ of dairy is equivalent to 189 ml milk (one carton of School Milk approx.), a carton of yogurt or 1oz of hard cheese.

ENDS

Issued by: Antonina Ni Dhuinn, Progress Communications Tel 01-2766117 nina@progresspr.ie

References
* Ref 1: IUNA research which has found that  42% of teenage girls do not have enough calcium as part of their regular diets.   By comparison, 23% of teenage boys do not have enough calcium.  (*IUNA, Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance, National Teen’s Food Survey).
* Ref  2: TNS mrbi research (April 2008)