A limited amount of grants ($1,000 maximum per school) may be used to purchase equipment to ease the burden on cafeteria staff. These grants are available to schools in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. “American Dairy Association North East works with school districts throughout our six-state region to support children’s nutrition in a number of ways – through educational summits, pilot programs to enhance school meal programs, and menu and recipe ideas,” according to John Chrisman, ADA North East CEO. “We appreciate the extra efforts School Nutrition staff has taken on during this difficult time, and our dairy farmers are proud to support the work they are doing.” “Dairy farmers are committed to the health of students and their access to milk’s nutrition – which children need to learn, grow and be successful in school,” said dairy farmer Audrey Donahoe, ATRASS Farm and president of ADA North East. “We have a long-standing history of partnering with schools to provide assistance, especially in times of need, and that’s exactly what we are doing now.”ADA North East has been working with local school districts throughout the region since the shortage was announced in October and has created a number of resources, including:
- A list of potential equipment options schools may want to consider: https://nutritionconnection.org/equipment-&-packaging/
- A tip sheet for farmers and other industry stakeholders who may want to help: https://www.americandairy.com/news/tips-to-support-schools-during-milk-carton-shortage/
