Plainfield Middle School has been chosen as the Grand Prize winner in the World School Milk Day promotion by the Dairy & Nutrition Council. As the grand prize winner, the PCMS cafeteria will receive a new Beverage Air milk cooler! Read on for details on the event...

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WORLD SCHOOL MILK DAY

Have you ever wondered how many cartons of school milk the school uses? 6^th grader, Emma Shoultz, took her best guess at Plainfield Middle School and won a $10 gift card to Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt. She guessed 9,500 and the answer was 9,847 cartons.

The contest was a part of the school’s celebration of the 12^th Annual World School Milk Day which was Wednesday, September 28^th. According to MilkPEP (Milk Processor Education Program), World School Milk Day is an international, annual event that celebrates the importance of school milk in children's diets in over 40 countries, and is a way to focus on helping children make healthy beverage choices. The first World School Milk Day was celebrated in September, 2000, and has since become an annual event celebrated in many countries throughout the world and promoted actively by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

Stacey Lemmermann, PCMS kitchen manager, planned Plainfield’s event with a variety of activities and prize-winning opportunities. Donations came from Prairie Farms, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt and Chic-fil-a. Cafeteria staff voted on poster and sculpture contest entries which included a giant replica of a milk carton, a 3D map of Plainfield made of milk cartons, and a model of the earth surrounded by milk cartons.

Madeline Richmond, 7th grade, wona $10 gift card to Orange Leaf for her entry in the event's poster contest, and the grand prize - a personal camcorder - was awarded to 8th grader, Rebecca Pitcock, for her sculpture which centered on the theme of World School Milk Day.

Lemmermann put such effort into this event that it was difficult not to participate. Cafeteria staff wore t-shirts imprinted with artwork from last year's t-shirt design winner. They also donned handmade accessories such as eyeglasses, earrings and pins made from milk cartons. 6th, 7th and 8th grade students and staff were encouraged to make it a "white out" day by wearing white t-shirts. Karen Wagler, better known as "Karen-the-cow," made her annual appearance during each lunch period to hand out donated goodies. Runners-up for each contest received "front of the lunchline" passes for a week, and students who purchased a hot lunch that day received a free ice cream sandwich.

Students who speak a foreign language also participated by recording a short video to be used in the day’s announcements.

Lemmerman looks forward to promoting the event each year and says she “feels like if [students] see us, talk with us outside of the cafeteria, they may act better and see us as more than just the ‘lunch lady’.” She says to keep the fun and games from getting out of hand, staff has found that students respond well to the threat of cafeteria clean-up duty.

Important Facts You Should Know:

• Most kids are not getting the recommended 3 daily servings of milk (for kids ages 9 and up). School is a key place where kids drink milk.
• Flavored milk provides nutrients kids need, with a taste kids love.
• Lowfat flavored milk is the most popular choice in school lunch rooms. Whether flavored or white milk, kids get the same 9 essential nutrients.
• Many of America's children are overfed and undernourished. Focusing on our kids' nutrient intake is essential now more than ever.
• The milk industry has been hard at work to lower the calories and sugar in school flavored milk - to deliver a nutritious and delicious drink kids love.
• This fall, school flavored milk is projected to have 38% less added sugar than flavored milk just 5 years ago.
• On average, school flavored milk is projected to have just 31 calories more than white milk and the majority have fewer than 150 calories per serving.