
Lisn Here
Processors, schools lauded for milk promo efforts.
The Houston area’s
Spring Independent School District (ISD) and Borden Milk Products
LP were the grand-prize winners of the first-ever Leadership in School
Nutrition (LISN) Award, sponsored by National Dairy Council. Each
organization received a check for $5,000 to be used toward future school
nutrition efforts.
The LISN Award, presented at the School Nutrition
Association’s annual conference last month in Florida, honors
positive partnerships between processors and schools through innovations in
milk programming using kid-appealing plastic packaging, nationally known as
the New Look of School Milk.
Efforts by Spring ISD and Borden — including new
flavors and packaging sizes — brought secondary school sales
increases of 81 to 188 percent; lunch program participation increased 8.5
percent, while breakfast participation increased 17.1 percent among some
28,000 daily student meals served.
“The real winners here are our students because
they’re drinking more milk and enjoying it,” says Melanie
Konarik, Spring ISD child nutrition director. “Their increased
consumption tells us that they really like the new packaging and flavor
options.”
Borden plans to use Spring ISD’s success as an
example for other schools it serves, says Ray Platter, executive vice
president of National Dairy Holdings and general manager at Borden Dairy.
“We are proud to be a part of this innovation for school milk and
look forward to seeing similar positive results around the country,”
he says.
Runners up were St. Vrain Valley School District and
Robinson Dairy in Colorado, each receiving $2,000, and Chicopee Public
Schools and Garelick Farms in Massachusetts, winning $1,000 each.
The winners were chosen by a panel of judges that
included Dairy Field editor James Dudlicek, along with experts from the food
industry, school nutrition and marketing arenas.
More information is at www.LISN-Awards.com.
$OMN_arttitle="Lisn Here";?>