School milk prices rising

[Horse with no Name]

http://www.temple-telegram.com/story/2008/04/21/48774

>>>snip
Costs rising by the gallon is more than just a gas problem. Costly gallons of milk may be something people are really concerned with these days, because they vitally effect our bodies, our children and even our school budgets.

In 2006, whole milk cost an average of $3.20 per gallon. This year, it’s up to $3.87 per gallon, according to the Boston Globe. Of course, milk isn’t the only food commodity to go up in price this year, but it is the item that seems to most infiltrate the use of all other products. It affects the cost of cheese, the consumption of cereal, competition with soft drinks. It even intricately involves itself in the economy of gas.

The possibility of growing bodies without milk is a problem school cafeterias across the country are worried about.

This year, Miami-Dade County schools anticipate paying $4.5 million more for milk than last year. Schools in Montgomery County, Md., expect a milk bill $600,000 higher than last year. And in Davie County, N.C., Yoo-hoo drinks have been put back in schools because they’re cheaper - less healthy, but still cheaper.

[TexasLady]

1. it may do a body good, but it's killing my wallet..

:mad:

[RB TexLa]

2. Less milk . . . more water . . . maybe?

wouldn't that work better for tax payers?

[Horse with no Name]

3. and it is SO nutritious!

Especially for those kids who live in poverty and a school lunch is their most nutritious (and sometimes only) good meal of the day.
I'm sure that will work out well (chuckle) for "them".

[JI7]

9. i think young kids need milk

[RB TexLa]

16. I have no idea what they need to eat

[tomtomtom]

4. darn cows

and damb bush is there anything he hasn't screwed up?

[Kittycat]

5. $3.87/gal - but my son's school is charging $1 for a little mini-carton for snacktime.

My son has a g-tube and special formula, so we don't buy in to the milk program. But earlier in the year they sent out notices that if we wanted our kids to have milk during snack, it would cost $5/week. I about fainted!

[Horse with no Name]

6. If they start cutting out milk from school lunches

Any bets that you will start seeing rickets routinely in children? Especially children that live in poverty?

[Lex1775]

7. I'm kind of torn on this...

With the amount of crap that is pumped into processed milk these days it might be a GOOD thing that milk prices are up.

On the other hand, if this is the only nutrition some of these kids get it might lead to some health problems down the road.

[Horse with no Name]

8. There are very few sources of Vitamin D

and most are so low that it is difficult to get the RDA.
If milk prices make it out of reach for schools...you can imagine that it will be out of reach for folks that are struggling.

[LeftyMom]

11. There's a big shiny one outside.

Vitamin D is a hormone. The body makes it when skin is exposed to sunlight.

[Horse with no Name]

13. Yeah skin cancer is so much easier to treat than giving a kid a carton of milk everyday

:eyes:

[LeftyMom]

15. 15 minutes of sun a day provides adequate vitamin D. Most kids get that on recess.

And you know what causes cancer? Childhood dairy consumption. Turns out casein, the primary protein in dairy, is like Miracle Gro for tumors.

[fortyfeetunder]

19. Thanks to NCLB, some kids are shorted on recess...

I recall a school district was cutting back on recess to focus more on the NCLB high stakes testing...

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

18. I think milk in school lunches is a great idea

but to be completely honest I'm with the vegans on this 'its not at all natural to drink the milk of another animal' Still Dairy is a good concentrated source for allot of vital nutrients and while you could supplement with several other things with supplement for something that has more benefits..

[LeftyMom]

10. Dairy consumption is a major factor in cancer and obesity

most kids don't even have the genes to digest it, and it's a very common allergen.

Inclusion of milk in the school lunch program is a favor to dairy farmers, not kids. WIC is already shifting a lot of their food package away from dairy and toward more healthful options. It's sad that it'll be concern for economics rather than health that causes school lunch programs to do so, but kids will benefit either way.

[Horse with no Name]

12. We can agree to disagree on this one.

Kids need milk...adults, not so much...but kids are still growing their bones and teeth.
So unless you would rather they snack on calcium supplements made in China...

[LeftyMom]

14. No, they definitely don't. No animal needs milk after weaning, let alone another speices' milk.

Many human societies, for reason of climate, terrain or inability to digest the stuff, have little or no dairy consumption.

And my favorite counterargument is bouncing around a few feet away from me right now- he's horribly allergic to dairy, and he's huge for his age, with strong bones and healthy teeth. He's not on calcium supplements, he just eats good food and runs around and plays.

[no_hypocrisy]

17. In 1962, a cup of milk cost three cents in the cafeteria.