NUTRITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF SCHOOL MILK TO STUDENTS’ DIETS
https://youtu.be/3JNwjp3DJb0?si=vP0iwGPZKX00YTAh
Milk is a vital component of a student’s diet, providing essential nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, and protein, which are crucial for growth and development. Calcium and vitamin D are particularly important for building strong bones and teeth, while protein supports muscle development and overall growth. Additionally, milk contains other vital nutrients like potassium, vitamin A, and B vitamins, which contribute to overall health and well-being. Despite these recognized benefits, U.S. per capita fluid milk consumption has been declining for over 70 years, with a sharper drop in the 2010s. 1 Schools remain a crucial source of milk, yet 68% to 94% of school-age children fail to meet recommended dairy intake levels. Importantly, 77% of daily milk consumption for low-income children ages 5-18 comes from the national school meals programs. 2 This underscores the importance of milk as part of school meals to help children meet their nutritional needs for growth and development. Increasing milk consumption in schools can help address these challenges by ensuring that children receive the nutritional benefits of milk, which supports their physical and cognitive development, leading to better academic performance and overall health. Increasing milk consumption in schools can help address these challenges. 3
OPPORTUNITIES A survey by the NDC found that improving the school milk experience and expanding availability are key opportunities. This included: • Improving milk packaging (easier to open and drink from) • Enhancing milk taste quality (affected by fat content, vitamin delivery, and packaging quality) • Increasing milk availability locations REFERENCES 1. Sales Trends/USDA Research service https://www.ers.usda.gov/ amber-waves/2022/june/fluid-milk-consumption-continues- downward-trend-proving-difficult-to-reverse 2. Kids not meeting requirements: https://www.idfa.org/ whole-milk-in-school-meals#:~:text=Yet%20the%20DGA%20 stresses%20that,fat%20and%20fat%2Dfree%20milk. 3. https://www.healthyeating.org/nutrition-topics/nutrition- science/scientific-research/milk-dairy-school-meal- programs#:~:text=Milk%20is%20a%20required%20and,meet%20 their%20daily%20nutrient%20needs.
4. K-12 survey: The challenges of school foodservice 5. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-08-decline- consumption-children-school-lunch.html
NOURISH TO FLOURISH • 5
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