World School Milk Day Gains Strength in Numbers
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20.11.12
Over 150 MPs have swapped the Commons for the classroom to help thousands of children from Inverness to St Ives celebrate school milk by acting as milk monitor for the day.
MPs including Yvette Cooper, MP for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford and Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities and Chris Grayling, MP for Epsom and Ewell and Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, handed out milk to children at their local primary and nursery schools between 26th September and 30th November.
The visits were organised by Cool Milk to help raise awareness of the importance of the nursery milk scheme and to celebrate World School Milk Day 2012 (26th September).
Mr Grayling said: “For children to drink milk regularly is really important, essential nutrition for growing up. That’s why it is important to support World School Milk Day. I am delighted that the Government provides support to enable schools to serve milk to pupils.”
In the UK an estimated 1.5 million children receive free milk every day, with about 40 per cent supplied by intermediaries or through teaching staff making arrangements with local retailers.
World School Milk Day is organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations to promote the importance of drinking milk at school to children in a fun and educational way. In the UK World School Milk Day is funded by Cool Milk, one of the country’s leading school milk suppliers.
Dr Hilary Jones, GP, Breakfast TV Health Editor and Medical Advisor to Cool Milk, said: “Milk is a very important part of overall nutrition for children providing a wide variety of minerals, vitamins and protein and other nutrients to keep them healthy.
“It is one of the most nutritionally complete foods available. As well as promoting good health, milk can help prevent dehydration and gives an energy boost in a way that does not harm teeth, aiding concentration, memory and creativity in class.”
Cool Milk’s Managing Director John Sedgwick explained: “Cool Milk has funded World School Milk Day in the UK for the past eight years and we were delighted so many MPs took part in this year’s celebrations.
“Last year 88 MPs volunteered to act as milk monitors for the day at their local school or nursery but this year 153 have given up their time to celebrate school milk which demonstrates how vitally important the scheme is.”
To see photos of the visits and read comments from the MPs who took part in World School Milk Day 2012 please visit www.worldschoolmilkday.co.uk
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- World School Milk Day is organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and is celebrated in over 30 countries around the world.
- Launched in 2000, the day is used to promote the importance of drinking milk at school to children in a fun and educational way.
- The goal of World School Milk Day is to celebrate school milk on one day of the year at the same time all across the world.
School milk
- Every child under the age of five is entitled to a free 189ml serving of milk whilst at school.
- Milk is a great source of nearly every vitamin and mineral of nutritional importance to humans, especially for children of a young age.
- For the top ten reasons to drink school milk go to www.coolmilk.com/whyschoolmilk
Cool Milk
- Cool Milk is one of the UK’s leading school milk suppliers and works in partnership with local authorities nationwide and serves thousands of children with fresh milk daily.
- Its aim is to provide every child in early years and primary education with the opportunity to drink fresh milk every day.
- The Cool Milk scheme is administration friendly and cost-free, and is designed to make providing school milk quick and simple for schools and nurseries.
- For more information visit www.coolmilk.com
Kate Strawson
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
kate@shootingstar-pr.co.uk
www.shootingstar-pr.co.uk
t: @shootingstarpr
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