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News Alert Archives
School Milk Makes the Grade: Student Nutritional Status Improves with Enhanced Milk Product
Rosemont, Ill. September 24, 2002 – In the face of escalating rates of childhood obesity and heightened public concern about the nutrient quality of foods in schools, a recent school study shows that students’ milk consumption and nutrition status can be significantly improved by enhanced milk offerings in schools.
In a year-long study involving more than 100,000 students in 146 schools, milk sales increased 22 percent in secondary test schools and 15 percent in elementary test schools after enhancements in milk packaging and merchandising, flavors, varieties and temperature were made. These numbers are significant from a national public health perspective, given that only 12 and 30 percent of female and male teens, respectively, consume the recommended daily servings of dairy foods.
“Based on research, we know that on average, only those children who choose milk during the noontime meal come close to meeting their recommended calcium intake,” says Dr. Rachel Johnson, Professor of Nutrition and Acting Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Vermont. “With the sharp rise in consumption of soft drinks and other beverages at the expense of milk, children may be at greater risk for bone fractures, as well as hypertension and osteoporosis later in life.”
Turning Around Perceptions
Prior to the study, 40 percent of children reported they disliked the traditional milk carton offered in schools. That number was cut in half with the introduction of a new plastic package, new flavors and the handling improvements that ensured a more consistent and colder temperature for the milk. In addition, more students reported choosing milk at lunch, and milk plate waste measurements showed that in both eight and 10-ounce packaging, children drank more of the milk they took.
In the student survey, 51 percent of respondents in 4th through 12th grade identify flavored milk as the “type of milk most often drank at school lunch.” This represents a 10 percent increase over pre-pilot survey measures.
Positive Implications for School Meal Participation
Over the course of the study, more students participated in the school meal program after the enhanced milk products were introduced. Average daily participation in meals served in schools were almost 5 percent higher in secondary test schools versus control schools at lunch.
“An increase of this magnitude in school meal participation is significant for children—from both a nutritional and a performance standpoint,” said Gaye Lynn MacDonald, President of American School Food Service Association. “Research clearly shows us that children who participate in national meal programs have higher intakes of nutritious foods and specific nutrients—both at lunch and over the course of the entire day. In addition, we know that children who are better nourished perform better in school.”
Basic Enhancements Yield Positive Results
Specific factors enhanced in the milk product as part of the study included: lowfat flavor varieties (at least one new flavor in addition to chocolate, usually strawberry), convenient packaging (plastic resealable in various sizes) and merchandising, better refrigeration and alternate sales points (a la carte and vending in addition to meal line). The study, called “The School Milk Pilot Test,” was co-sponsored by the American School Food Service Association and National Dairy Council®, in 47 elementary schools and 99 secondary schools in 12 U.S. markets. Beverage Marketing Corporation managed data collection and three waves of student surveys. They also coordinated product design and distribution with the nine participating dairy processors.
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