Raise your Glass to World School Milk Day
To celebrate World School Milk Day on September 25, the National Dairy Council (NDC) is delighted to announce it will run a webinar which will teach school children across Ireland the benefits of drinking school milk. The aim of World School Milk Day is to highlight the importance of milk in providing essential nutrients for school children.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, said: “World school milk day promotes Ireland’s grass-based production system and promotes the benefits of dairy in a healthy balanced diet. I wish to acknowledge the great work that the NDC does in running the EU school milk scheme in Irish schools on behalf of my Department, making available subsidised milk to all our schoolchildren. The health benefits to our children of such school programmes cannot be underestimated. I would encourage all eligible schools to register for the School Milk Scheme so that pupils in schools can benefit from affordable milk that will encourage children to adopt healthy eating choices at a young age."
The webinar which is 30 minutes long will feature a host of educational activities aimed specifically at school children including an interview with a school participating in the School Milk Scheme, an interview with a dairy farmer, a talk from Louise Reynolds, Dietitian with the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute and a cooking demonstration with cookery teacher Lisa Davies.
The EU School Milk Scheme is run in Ireland by The National Dairy Council in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine and plays a key role in helping children to meet the Department of Health’s recommended daily servings of dairy, as part of a healthy balanced diet. Participating children receive daily portions of milk and the scheme is supported by educational resources. The scheme is available to all primary and secondary schools. Schools that register for the School Milk Scheme receive two weeks of milk free.
Dr Mary Harrington, Senior Nutritionist with NDC, commented: “This is the second year that we have held a webinar for schools on World School Milk Day and it is a fitting way to celebrate and educate schoolchildren both from rural and urban areas on the workings of a dairy farm – to experience where our nutritious milk comes from. It also provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the nutritional benefits of dairy and highlight to children the significant health benefits of including dairy in their diet, and a habit to carry into to their adult life."
25,000 children from all over Ireland logged into the webinar last year on World School Mild Day and we hope for the same this year.
WEBINAR DETAILS
To register for the webinar visit us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvcOqrrT4tE9OSD9Yzq-syBlVlbLZBMZUl#/registration