Healthy vending options, like milk in resealable plastic bottles, bottled water or 100% fruit juice, are being considered by schools to give students healthier alternatives to soda.

	90% of teen girls and 70% of teen boys don’t meet their calcium requirements. -Rachelle Brandeis, registered dietician and American Dietetic Association spokeswoman

In a national pilot program conducted in 2001 by the dairy industry in 70 middle and high schools around the U.S., average weekly sales were 280 units per milk machine.

And while kids need to drink more milk, whole milk is a primary source of artery-clogging saturated fat. Luckily, low-fat has all the calcium and other nutrients of milk; it’s an ideal healthy beverage -- particularly for growing children and teens.

	Four out of five kids don't consume enough calcium.

Several Wisconsin school districts and at least 10 schools in northern Illinois are vending milk with excellent results. Dairy VP Jerry Stegman in Naperville, Illinois notes that two large high schools there currently average 400-500 units of milk per week.

	A recent study by the University of Vermont found kids who drink flavored milk and 50% juice beverages drink fewer nutrient-poor drinks and maintain nutritional balance without increasing consumption of added sugars and fats.

In August 2003, milk replaced soda in vending machines in schools across Vermont. 

	Some professionals estimate that as much as 90% of child obesity can be linked back to drinking too much soda. -Chantale Nadeau, Vermont Health Department, WorldNow, October 6, 2003

Milk machines operate in 8 of 11 Monroe County (Tennessee) schools, at all grade levels. And even though soda is still offered, students are buying milk. A drop in revenues was expected that never materialized.

A wide variety of flavors and new packaging (one-pint “chug” bottles, zany cow characters) serve to make milk more kid-friendly. The machines are typically stocked with products from Hershey, Nesquik and local milk processors.

	2%
	Chocolate
	Low-fat chocolate
	Fat-free chocolate
	Chocolate milkshake
	Cookies and cream
	Banana
	Strawberry
	Vanilla

Schools thoughout the St. Louis area installed milk-vending machines in January 2003, offering new, multi-flavored options. The nutrition director of one large school district estimated 100 bottles of milk were sold each week -- noting that was 100 fewer bottles of soda sold.

	I was really glad to see (milk) come in.  It’s much more nutritious than soda. -Donna Schrameyer, food service manager, DeSoto School District (St. Louis metro)

Low-Fat Milk: In inner-city Latino elementary schools, students’ selection of low-fat milk more than doubled. (Source: American Journal of Public Health, 1998)

In the summer of 2003, Coca-Cola began testing a new milk-based drink, “Swerve.” This new shelf-stable line of 11-oz. cans provide 30% of the RDA for calcium.

Because Swerve is made with skim milk and sweetened in part with calorie-free sucralose, it has less sugar, fat and calories ounce for ounce than 1% milk. It’s aimed at middle and high schools.

Dr Pepper/7-Up’s milk-based entry, Raging Cow, has enough milk to earn the dairy association’s “Real” seal, but the company says its target audience isn’t kids.

For more information on milk in Oklahoma schools, contact sfs@dairymax.org or dairymax.com.