Parents have a big influence on what their kids eat. Parents are role models for helping children to develop a taste for healthy food. Kids who are well nourished – like those who get their recommended daily servings of milk – have increased test scores, improved attendance, reduced tardiness and better academic, behavioral and emotional functioning.*  You can help ensure that your children are getting nutritious milk at school by encouraging your children to eat healthy and drink milk- both at home and in school. Help us help children on the School Milk Program grow up healthy!

What is the School Milk Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador?

The School Milk Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador Inc. is an independent non-profit organization, which assists with the availability and affordability of milk for students. The School Milk Foundation subsidizes the price of milk in schools on our Program throughout the province so that milk is more accessible to students. The School Milk Foundation also offers free in-class nutrition education presentations to Kindergarten to Grade 6 students on the Program. We also offer a self-contained Healthy Eating Active Living Toolkit, which can be used by teachers and health professionals in Grade 7 to 12 classes.

We operate the School Milk Program in over 250 schools in Newfoundland and Labrador, reaching approximately 95% of this province’s Kindergarten to Grade 12 population.

What is the School Milk Program?

The School Milk Program has two components. The first is the subsidization of milk in schools on our Program throughout the province. Student prices are set at 55¢ for a 250mL milk and $1.10 for a 500mL milk. The second part of our program consists of various educational and incentive based campaigns, which encourage students to meet the recommended number of servings from the Milk and Alternatives Food Group as outlined in Canada’s Food Guide. The School Milk Program makes it fun and rewarding for students to drink milk!

Why School Milk?

Studies show that well-nourished students do better in school. Students learn better and are more alert when they are well-fed with a balance of foods from the four food groups.

Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating recommends that students consume 2 to 4 servings of milk products daily. Milk and milk products provide students with 15 essential nutrients, including bone-building calcium and the energy needed to perform their best. Yet recent studies show that:

• Half of children (age 6–12 years) did not consume any milk products in their lunch and 46% consumed various “sugared water” beverages that have little or no nutritional value.
• Drinking less milk can have both long and short-term effects on children’s health. In one study, girls with forearm fractures were more likely to have low mineral density throughout their bones, suggesting that they were not getting enough calcium.
• Early adolescence is a crucial time for bone development. Up to 45% of our lifetime bone mass is built and consolidated during the teen years. This is a crucial period for calcium and other bone building nutrients found in milk.

With faster-paced lifestyles, today more than ever, students need the nutritional benefits of milk at lunch to help them achieve optimum growth and learning. School Milk Programs can make a difference in students’ mental and physical developments. They also help schools fulfill their mandate to teach and support healthy lifestyles!

We value your comments and suggestions. If you would like to reach the School Milk Foundation please contact us directly at (709) 364-2776 or by email at info@schoolmilkfdn.nf.net.



*(“Diet, breakfast and academic performance in children”. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, Kleinman RE, Hall S, Green H, Korzec-Ramirez D, Patton K, Pagano ME and Murphy JM, 46 Supp 1:24-30, 2002.)