Background

• Central US school district in rurual/suburban setting, including a high school, middle school and four elementary schools. All schools serve lunch and breakfast, and 45% of meals are free or reduced price.

Success:

• Initially added strawberry and vanilla flavors to breakfast 8 oz offerings. Students enjoyed flavors so much that additional flavors were added to the lunch meal line within a week. Plastic pints were successfully added to the high school a la carte lunch line and increased total milk consumption.

Key Activities:

• SFD requested additional flavors from local milk processor - initially for breakfast program, and then rolled out flavors into lunch line.

Why Implemented:

• A new SFD wanted to try something new for students and sought out variety and better packaging from milk processor
• The SFD believes offering students variety will encourage them to drink more milk.

When Implemented:

• Pints and additional flavors were introduced in September 2004.

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Program Details

• 8 oz cartons-White 1%and FF, Chocolate 1%, Strawberry 2%, Vanilla 2%
• 16 oz bottles- White 2%, Chocolate Whole, Strawberry Whole

Packaging and Placement

• Meal Line
• A La Carte

Promotion

• High school students were part of a "Nutrition Advisory Council" at start of school year where they sampled milk and determined what flavors to carry in pints.
• The new milk flavors and pints were promoted during the classroom-wide television "news," where students interviewed SFD about milk variety.
• Food service managers encourage students to try new milk flavors and pints.

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Results

• Overall, students drank 23% more milk.
• 8oz cartons:
  • Milk unit sales increased 18%
  • New flavors represented 16% of all milk sales.
• SFD is so pleased with flavored milk sales and the pint success, she is considering vending for next school year. She has already contacted her local Dairy Council representative to learn about vending programs.

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Positives and Challenges

• Offering variety in the milk cartons and carrying pints increased milk sales.
• When students feel involved in milk choices, they are more likely to drink it.
• Milk successes were so positive that SFD already considering making other changes in milk variety.

Challenges

• Cost of milk is greater, but students do not seem to mind higher pint prices.
• Pints are sold in a cooler which has limited space; Coke allowed SFD to put additional milk in Dasani water cooler.
• Extra milk must be kept in a few places now, including the walk-in refrigerator, since demand is so high.

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