Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Chef Ann Foundation Awards Grants to Purchase Bulk Milk to 15 K–12 Districts

  • By Matt Jones
  • 09/10/24

The Chef Ann Foundation recently announced that it has awarded 29 grants to 15 school districts around the U.S. to go toward purchasing milk in bulk instead of single-serve containers. The Bulk Milk program is in its second year and provides recipients with the equipment, training, and materials required for schools to make the shift, according to a news release.

The USDA requires U.S. schools to provide milk with every breakfast or lunch served via the National School Breakfast and School Lunch programs, the news release reports. Single-serving milk containers have become one of the most significant contributors to food and packaging waste in schools, the news release reports. Bulk milk dispensers allow students to pour their own desired amount, cutting down on both the 45 million gallons of liquid milk discarded annually in schools, as well as their containers.

“We had more than 360,000 fewer cartons go into the landfill last year,” said Beth Brewster, Supervisor of Food Services at Caroline County School in Maryland. “There has been less [liquid milk] waste as well, since the students only take the amount they want and actually drink it.”

According to the news release, the grants were awarded to Petersburg School District, Alaska; Willows Unified School District, Calif.; Ocean View School District, Calif.; San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, Calif.; Shady Creek Outdoor School, Calif.; Santa Clara Unified School District, Calif.; Weld County School District, Colo.; Colorado Charter School Institute, Colo.; Cannon Falls Independent School District, Minn.;  Minneapolis Public School District, Minn.; Explore Academy Charter School, N.M.; Ithaca School District, N.Y.; Groton Central School District, N.Y.; Franklin Special School District, Tenn.; Suffolk Public School District, Va.

Funding for the grant came with support from Elevance Health Foundation and the Posner Foundation, the news release reports.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • ed tech conference calendar

    Upcoming Awards, Events & Webinars

  • Wyoming District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    Laramie County School District #1 in Cheyenne, Wy., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Mountain View Elementary School, according to a news release. The facility has an estimated completion date of summer 2028, and it will have the capacity for 650 students in fifth and sixth grade.

  • UT-San Antonio Begins Residence Hall Renovations

    The University of Texas at San Antonio recently began a $6-million renovation project to one of its residence halls, according to a news release. Originally completed in 1986, Chisolm Hall measures in at 120,860 square feet and is the oldest and largest residence hall on campus.

  • UPenn Announces Completion of New Veterinary Education Facility

    The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn., recently finished construction on an 11,800-square-foot veterinary education building, according to a news release. The Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education is the first dedicated classroom facility at the New Bolton Center, a large-animal hospital and campus about 35 miles west of the campus proper.