Although school closures during the pandemic led to declines in meal participation overall, milk sales increased in some districts due to serving milk with multiple meals. Thanks to the April 2020 new USDA milk guidelines, districts were allowed to offer milk in larger containers — like quarts or gallons rather than 8-ounce cartons — when providing multiple meals for students learning remotely.

ADA North East sprang into action, notifying school districts of the new flexibilities and created a bulk milk calculator tool to help easily calculate appropriate size milk containers. We also provided a best practice guide for serving milk at safe and optimal temperatures during school closures.

From September to October 2020 (versus a year ago), districts with increased milk pounds served include:

  • Prince William County School District, Va. — additional 390,384
  • Altoona School District, Pa. – additional 13,513 milk pounds
  • Syracuse City School District, N.Y. — additional 13,357 milk pounds
  • Greece Central School District, N.Y. — additional 5,300 milk pounds