• Child Nutrition Act (CNA): Passed in 2004, the Child Nutrition Act encourages schools to offer milk "anywhere, anytime" and to provide more flavor and fat content choices. On November 21, 2005 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published an interim final rule clarifying certain provisions of the CNA. The new rule is meant to prohibit direct or indirect restrictions on the sale or marketing of fluid milk on school premises or at school-sponsored events, at any time or in any place in schools. To that end, USDA's interim final rule published in the Federal Register, nullifies "exclusivity clauses" — clauses included in many schools' contracts with soft drink companies to keep out competing beverages. This new ruling empowers vending operators to expand their vended milk offerings in schools and approach school foodservice directors about renegotiating or amending existing contracts in order to include vended milk. Additionally, this rule prohibits the inclusion of exclusivity clauses in future contracts.

  Another important change to the law stipulates that only 100% fluid milk (white or flavored) is part of this regulation. The original legislative language included beverages with at least 51% milk. This clarification effectively limits new partial milk-based beverages from enjoying the same status as calcium- and nutrient-rich 100% milk. The inclusion of milk-based beverages in the vending mix cannot exclude or replace 100% fluid milk. Click here to view the interim ruling in its entirety.

• Wellness: With concern about obesity among children at an all-time high, schools want to offer healthier beverages and foods that kids will actually choose. Additionally, a 2004 federal law mandates that all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program develop a local wellness policy by the start of the 2006 school year. That policy includes ensuring consistency with USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans for all foods available on campus, including those sold through vending machines.

• Health: Researchers have found that dairy may play a role in promoting a healthy weight or preventing an unhealthy weight gain among children and adolescents. Some studies have shown that a higher intake of dairy foods is associated with a lower percentage of body fat among children and teenagers.

Vended milk can help schools achieve these important goals by making milk accessible to students all day, everyday, including breakfast, lunch, after school and during special events and activities. As milk consumption increases in schools, so does the profit opportunity for vending operators.

Vended milk passes the test in schools:
MilkPEP's School Milk Vending Test found that the opportunity for school milk vending is estimated at 130 million 16-oz. plastic, single-serve bottles annually. The results show a strong demand and a significant business opportunity for vending operators:

• Two-thirds of schools allow students to buy food and drinks from vending machines during lunch.
• Results of a five-month milk vending study concluded that many students will choose milk over competitive beverages.
  • 68% of students said they bought vended milk
  • About 30% of students purchased milk at least once a week
  • Average weekly sales per machine were 307 units in high schools and 213 units in middle schools
• A recent test program was initiated in 146 schools encompassing 100,000 students to enhance milk programs with high visibility displays, new packaging and adding chocolate and strawberry flavors in a variety of sizes. Results:
  • Milk sales increased 18%: 15% elementary, 22% secondary
  • 14% from a la carte and vending sales

Click here to read the full test results.

Vending is the solution for common school milk challenges:

The Challenge	The Vending Solution
Limited availability of milk	Vending can make milk available all day
Milk packaging difficult to open	Vending features portable, resealable plastic containers
Limited milk flavors/fat levels	Vending allows for a wider product variety
Uncool image of milk	Vending features higher-end, "cooler" products kids are more likely to choose because they pay for and select it themselves
Warm milk temperatures	Vending keeps milk cold until it's dispensed
Waiting in line for milk	Vending provides milk instantly with no waiting
Low profit opportunity from milk	Vending offers more profitable, value-added choices
Inflexible milk pricing	Vending prices are determined by the competitive environment
Limited milk promotion opportunities	Vending machines act as a billboard to promote milk

Tips for success in a school vended milk program:

• Talk with school foodservice directors, principals and coaches about the possibility of multiple milk vending machine placements outside the cafeteria to give students access to milk throughout the day.
• Contact your local dairy council about possible assistance with school vending grants.
• Discuss with school contacts — including school foodservice directors, principals, coaches and parents' groups - the possibility of adding milk in plastic, single-serve containers to existing vending machines.
• Work with schools to ensure they can receive and store refrigerated milk deliveries; investigate any storage/refilling challenges.
• Work with your milk processor to rotate a variety of milk flavors through school vending machines to increase consumption and excitement; ask if special packaging that doesn't require refrigeration is available in your area to minimize spoilage.
• Make sure equipment is functioning properly and keeping milk cold until dispensed.
• Make milk fun — consider working with schools, milk processors and local dairy councils on contests and giveaways that promote milk consumption among kids.

Checklist for Getting Started
One of the easiest ways to tap into milk's potential is to add it to existing vending operations. Here are some questions vending operators need to answer when considering adding milk to their machines:

• What's the opportunity for incremental milk sales in each of my existing locations?
• Does my research point to any locations that may offer an opportunity for new milk vender placement? If so, what other machine placements (e.g. snacks, juices, etc.) might also work in that location?
• Do I have an existing relationship with a milk processor? If not, to whom should I reach out? If so, how can my processor help me add milk to my vending machines? Is my processor currently providing milk to schools for meals?
• Can my processor provide milk in plastic containers in a variety of flavors?
• Can I add single-serve plastic milk containers to existing food machines?
• Is refrigerated delivery available to me? If not, is it feasible to add coolers to my delivery trucks?
• How will I handle milk storage?
• How often will vended milk need to be refilled?