MP CELEBRATES FREE MILK IN SCHOOLS

MEDIA RELEASE

19th September 2013

Tom Greatrex, MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, acted as milk monitor for the day in both Cosmic Cherubs Nursery and Fernhill School in celebration of World School Milk Day.

To mark the event both establishments encouraged children to drink milk and understand the nutritional benefits milk provides, alongside hundreds of schools and nurseries across the UK throughout September and October 2013.

Mr Greatrex said “I am delighted to be able to again take part in World School Milk Day. It is so important to promote the health benefits of drinking milk and the scheme is a great opportunity to encourage young children to develop healthy dietary habits which they will carry on throughout their life.”

World School Milk Day is on Wednesday 25th September. An initiative driven globally by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, World School Milk Day is funded in the UK by Cool Milk, the country’s leading school milk supplier.

The annual event, held on the last Wednesday in September, has been celebrated by children drinking milk in schools and early years settings in over 30 countries around the world since 2000.

In the UK, an estimated 1.5 million children under the age of five receive free milk every day, while pupils aged five to eleven receive subsidised milk.

Delivered fresh to the classroom, the milk is enjoyed as a group, promoting social development and independence. Milk is vital for building healthy bones and teeth and improves a child’s concentration, memory and creativity.

Theresa Hayburn, Head Teacher at Fernhill School said “At Fernhill school we offer milk to every child with their lunch as we feel it adds essential nutritional value and ensures they have the energy required to participate fully in the afternoon session. We also feel that our well above average pupil attendance is testament to the fact that the milk has helped strengthen their immune system and keep them fighting fit.”

For more information about World School Milk Day, please visit www.worldschoolmilkday.com

Images of the visit are available at:

http://flickr.com/gp/100675627@N07/Qh20H4/

PLEASE CLICK ‘SETS’. Relevant images and information regarding them will be stored in the folder named in accordance with the school or nursery. Names of those within the image are detailed in each images’ ‘tags’ (left to right).

For more information please call Charley Sowden from Shooting Star PR on M: 07971 200 510 T: 01522 528540 or E: charley@thisisblyth.com

Notes to Editor:

• Cool Milk is the UK’s leading school milk supplier, working in partnership with local authorities and early years groups to supply free and subsidised school milk to children in pre-schools, nurseries, and primary schools across the UK.

• The 1944 Education Act introduced a free milk clause which gave a free glass (1/3 pint) of milk to all school children in the United Kingdom under the age of 18. Today, under the Welfare Food Scheme run by the Department of Health, under-fives are still eligible for free school milk. Milk is also subsidised for school children aged five to 11 by the European Union under the European school milk scheme.

• It is recognised that there are a wide range of health benefits from drinking milk.
  
  

For more information call Charley Sowden from Shooting Star PR on M: 07971 200 510 T: 01522 528540 or E: charley@thisisblyth.com

Charley Sowden
Shooting Star PR
01522 528 540
charley@thisisblyth.com

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