White House Recognizes IDFA Healthy School Milk Commitment
The International Dairy Foods Association’s (IDFA) Healthy School Milk Commitment was officially recognized the week of March 1st, at a special event organized by the White House to announce new commitments under the Biden-Harris administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. IDFA’s Healthy School Milk Commitment is a pledge by 37 school milk processors representing approximately 95% of the school milk volume in the United States to provide healthy, nutritious school milk options with no more than 10 grams of added sugar per 8-fluid-ounce serving, fully consistent with the latest federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans and ahead of current school meal nutrition guidelines established by USDA.
Expansion Of The Healthy School Milk Commitment To Summer Nutrition Programs
The commitment recently was expanded to include USDA’s Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded program that provides healthy meals and snacks to up to 3.2 million low-income children and teens during the summer months when schools are out of session and access to consistent, daily nutrition is limited.
Industry Leaders Showcase Commitment To Nutrition At White House
Just a handful of organizations and companies were invited to the White House on Tuesday, February 27th to be recognized for their leadership on hunger, nutrition and health. IDFA President and CEO, Michael Dykes was joined by IDFA members HP Hood and Agri-Mark dairy cooperative. HP Hood team members Megan Delano, senior manager of regulatory affairs, and Linda Cote, senior manager of R&D, provided samples of their newly reformulated nonfat chocolate milk to White House and Biden-Harris administration officials. Hood’s school milk products are sourced in part from Agri-Mark dairy farms. Agri-Mark dairy cooperative board chair, James “Cricket” Jacquier, co-owner of Laurelbrook Farm in East Canaan, Connecticut, also joined the event.
“On behalf of America’s school milk processors, we are proud to be recognized (this week) by the White House and Biden-Harris administration for our industry’s proactive efforts to reduce added sugar in school milk to ensure children continue to enjoy milk’s 13 essential nutrients in a product they love,” Dykes said Tuesday. “The Healthy School Milk Commitment ensures all children, especially our most vulnerable, have access to nutritious milk options throughout the year with less added sugar and fewer calories. School milk is the leading source of calcium, vitamin D and potassium for American children. As the Biden-Harris administration recognized (this week), IDFA and our nation’s school milk processors have stepped up in a big way to provide wholesome and healthy milk options with 13 essential nutrients to children all year around.”
The Partnership Between Dairy Farms And Processors Enhancing School Nutrition
Lynne Bohan, group vice president, communications and government affairs for HP Hood, added that Hood’s long-standing partnership with local farm families allows the company to bring nutritious milk products that taste great to schools across the Northeast with the highest degree of freshness and safety.
“The new chocolate milk we debuted (Tuesday) for schools exemplifies Hood’s ongoing commitment to quality, innovation and nutrition,” Bohan said. “We’re grateful to participate in today’s event at the White House as part of the Healthy School Milk Commitment, and we look forward to continue bringing Hood’s highly nutritious dairy products to people of all ages for many years to come.”
The Impact Of The IDFA Healthy School Milk Commitment
Jacquier noted that dairy farmers devote their lives to producing fresh, wholesome and local milk for their communities. “That dedication begins on the farm and is continued by our processor partners like HP Hood who have created a nutritious, delicious product that students want to drink,” Jacquier said. “This new product checks the box of exceeding nutritional standards and is kid-approved. Students have always reached for flavored milk, and now they’ll have even more nutritious choices thanks to the Healthy School Milk Commitment. We applaud the dairy industry’s efforts to reduce added sugars proactively and voluntarily in school milk.”
The Significant Reduction Of Added Sugars In School Milk
More than two-thirds of milk consumed by children in school today is flavored, such as chocolate and strawberry milk. Therefore, the reductions in sugar and calories achieved by the Healthy School Milk Commitment are critical to improving child nutrition. USDA’s school meals program — including school breakfast and lunch — serves more than 30 million children every day with nutritious meals. According to a 16-year study conducted by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, school meals are the most nutritious meals consumed by American school-aged children. USDA’s Summer Food Service Program brings the benefits of school meals to as many as 3.2 million food-insecure children in the summer months when school is out of session and access to healthy meals is a challenge for low-income families.
Strong Parental Support For Flavored Milk In Schools
According to surveys among school milk processors conducted by IDFA and Prime Consulting, the level of added sugars in flavored milk products has declined by 55% between 2006 and 2023, from 16.7 grams per 8-ounce serving in 2006 to 7.5 grams of added sugar per serving in 2023 as milk processors signed on to IDFA’s Healthy School Milk Commitment and began reformulating products in advance of the 2025 school year. Calories associated with flavored milk also have declined during that same period from 166 to 125 calories per 8-ounce serving, for a reduction of 41 calories.
Meanwhile, parents of school-age children continue to be big supporters of offering flavored milk in schools today. In a survey by Morning Consult commissioned by IDFA conducted between June 9-11, 2023, among a sample of 441 parents with children in public schools, 89% agree that nonfat or lowfat flavored milk should remain an option in public school meals, IDFA says.
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Source: Cheese Market News