The Government has been called to end the uncertainty over the future of milk in primary schools, by committing to replace the European School Milk Scheme after Brexit.
Numerous organisations have signed an open letter ahead of World School Milk Day today (27 September), calling on Defra Secretary Michael Gove to commit to replacing the scheme.
The open letter, written by the School and Nursery Milk Alliance and the School Food Plan Alliance, states that it is in recognition of the benefits milk has for children’s health.
Children over five are currently entitled to subsidised school milk every day in school – with the EU providing €4,219,000 in funding in 2017/18.
But this funding is at risk if the UK does not introduce its own scheme following Brexit – something the Government has not so far explicitly committed to doing.
The letter is supported by polling of the public, conducted by ComRes on behalf of the School and Nursery Milk Alliance, which showed widespread support for replacing the scheme.
The poll found that 61% of adults in Britain think that the Government should replace the milk subsidies schools currently receive from the EU with national funding.
Dairy farming
The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is also urging the Government to make the commitment.
NFU dairy board chairman Michael Oakes, who’ll be attending a school in Birmingham today, said it’s vital departments, such as Defra and the Department of Health, that help promote the importance of children enjoying a nutritional glass of milk on a daily basis.
Mr Oakes and NFU Vice President Guy Smith will be visiting Percy Shurmer Academy in Birmingham to talk to pupils about dairy farming, milk production and the benefits of drinking milk.
First launched 17 years ago by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, World School Milk Day is a celebration of the health benefits of school milk programmes around the world.
The NFU said it recognises the importance of school milk because it provides nutritious dairy products for children and helps to develop consumption habits of the future.
'Nutritional benefits'
Michael Oakes said: “Following Brexit, it’s extremely important that Government, both through Defra and the Department of Health, continue with a domestic school milk scheme.
“As important as simple, subsidised school milk is the need for children to receive education about the nutritional benefits of dairy products and an understanding of dairy farming,
“In a post-Brexit world we are calling on Defra to strive to provide milk and education to the maximum number of children. For instance in 2013/14, of the 9,826,000 children eligible to participate in the EU School Milk Scheme, in the UK only 1,193,563 did. We urge Defra to better promote and encourage uptake of current and future school milk schemes.”
Defra will consult on a new UK School Milk Scheme in the autumn. To help inform lobbying efforts and to form part of our response to the consultation, the NFU has created a postcard survey for farmers to hand out to their local schools.
The postcard prompts schools to consider providing milk for their pupils, looks at current uptake and challenges of the EU scheme and assesses demand for a future UK scheme.
'Milk memo'
The Dairy Council, a non-profit making organisation which advocates dairy foods, has today launched its ‘Milk Memo’ campaign.
It seeks to invite primary schools to tell the world what milk means to them and to learn about the key role that milk plays in keeping children nourished.
Erica Hocking, senior nutrition scientist at The Dairy Council, said: “Primary school children need to get lots of nutrients and energy from their diet to fuel healthy growth and development, their requirements are higher in relation to their body size than adults.
“School milk can be a powerful boost to meeting children’s nutrient needs - milk provides a valuable source of calcium and protein for growing bodies as well as many other important nutrients.
“At this age, it is essential that children have a healthy, balanced diet to help them maintain a healthy weight as they get older and school scan have a key role to play in encouraging children to replace sugary drinks with milk or water.
“This year, we asked schools to post a creative message, photo with their class, or make their own milk-inspired video in celebration school milk. It has been very encouraging to see all of the innovative entries submitted from schools across Britain and to see how much children still enjoy their milk.”
