Four Maryland schools in Talbot, Cecil, Somerset and Frederick counties received barrel milk coolers as part of a partnership with American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) and Papillon Agricultural Company and MIN-AD, Inc., two Maryland agricultural businesses that donated $2,000.
Maryland school nutrition directors entered an online dairy contest developed by ADA North East and LP&M Advertising as part of a World Milk Day promotion in June. The four schools selected to receive the coolers are Chapel Elementary School, Talbot County; North East Middle School in North East, Cecil County; Deal Island Elementary School, Deal Island, Somerset County; and Emmitsburg Elementary School, Emmitsburg, Frederick County.
A ribbon-cutting celebration was held on World School Milk Day, Wednesday, Sept. 26, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore at the Chapel Elementary School, Cordova, Talbot County.
World School Milk Day is always celebrated the last Wednesday in September and is focused on teaching students about the importance of drinking milk as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
“Kids will only get the nutritional benefits of milk if they drink it, and the best way to ensure they’re drinking milk is to serve it cold,” said ADA North East CEO Rick Naczi. “We work with schools to maintain the optimal temperature for milk of 35 degrees and providing these coolers with the help of our industry partners is a win for everyone.”
“We were honored to team up with American Dairy Association North East in support of World School Milk Day and the dairy industry at large,” said David Briggs, President, Papillon Agricultural Company. “Programs like this are great for reminding the public about the health benefits of milk as well as all the hardworking people behind the scenes – dairy producers, nutritionists, veterinarians and the businesses that serve them. We were especially thrilled when one of the winning schools turned out to be right in our own backyard!”
Dairy farmer Trisha Knight Boyce from Easton, Talbot County, also attended the ribbon-cutting and served milk to the students. Boyce and husband Jarred milk 70 cows and operate Chapel’s Country Creamery where they make artisan raw milk cheese.
To learn more about ADA North East’s cold school milk efforts, visit www.AmericanDairy.com. To learn more about Papillon Agricultural Company and MIN-AD, Inc., visit www.papillon-ag.com.
About American Dairy Association North East
American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) is the dairy farmer-funded organization funded by participating dairy farmer’s checkoff investment to build demand and sales for milk and dairy foods throughout the local region. Representing nearly 12,000 dairy farm families in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey and northern Virginia, ADANE develops and implements local programs to drive milk and dairy sales at retail outlets and in schools. The organization also conducts consumer education about dairy through events, traditional and social media, and in collaboration with health professionals through National Dairy Council®. ADA North East works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™, the national dairy checkoff organization, to support nutrition research, national partnerships and developing export markets for dairy to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the region. For more information, visit www.AmericanDairy.com.
