SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Dairy farmers Caleb and Alice Crothers of Long Green Farm in Rising Sun, Md., recently joined American Dairy Association North East and 45 school food nutrition directors from our six-state region at the checkoff-hosted School Nutrition Forum at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The Crothers participated in a pre-forum meal and tour of the stadium to help make a positive and personal connection between the dairy farmers who provide milk for school meals with those who are planning and preparing the menus. They were joined by former Philadelphia Eagle and dairy advocate Jason Avant and Eagles mascot Swoop as they toured the facility.
The forum supported school nutrition professionals in rebuilding school meal participation by committing to adopt marketing strategies and menu enhancements that secure dairy’s place in school meals – and to secure ADA North East’s role as a partner in rebuilding school meal participation.
ADA North East Director of Consumer Confidence Beth Meyer conducted a media training for the forum attendees to empower them to confidently tell their stories and respond to crises through hands-on media training related to student nutrition.
Caleb Crothers, also a National Dairy Board member said, “Like dairy farming, school nutrition directors face a lot of challenges in planning and preparing school meals, and it was eye-opening to learn how dairy checkoff navigates the system to ensure that dairy’s place is secure on the menus.”
“ADA North East keeps dairy forefront in nearly 14,000 schools across our six-state region,” said ADA North East CEO Rick Naczi. “Forging relationships with school foodservice staff is critical to that mission, and connecting them personally with our dairy farmers further cements their commitment to including milk and dairy in their school menus.”
In addition to supporting milk options on school menus, including USDA’s recent announcement that low-fat flavored milk can be offered, ADA North East offers ongoing programs to help increase cheese and yogurt sales in schools by providing new recipes and service options for breakfast and lunch. Students have enjoyed meal options like yogurt parfaits, pumpkin spice smoothies, and Buffalo chicken cheese dip.
To learn more about ADA North East’s school nutrition programs, visit AmericanDairy.com, and click on “In Schools.”
–American Dairy Association North East