Small carton, big impact: The story behind school milk

A school milk carton may be small, but it has a big job. In just a few minutes at lunch, it helps provide students with natural protein, calcium and other essential nutrients — and connects them to dairy farmers producing food in their own state.

You probably don't think much about the people behind the milk your child picks up in the school lunch line. But behind that little carton are dedicated farmers, careful quality checks and a lot of work to produce nutritious food for Utah families.

Here's a look at one of the dairy farmers helping supply milk to Utah schools, why milk earns a spot on the lunch tray and the role families can play in helping kids build healthy eating habits.

Meet one of the dairy farmers fueling students

Milk served in Utah schools can come from local dairy farms like Mosida Dairy near Elberta, Utah. Dairy farmer Kaleb Bateman, whose family has owned Mosida Dairy for generations, is proud to help supply milk that ultimately makes its way into school lunches.

As a father of three, he understands the responsibility that comes with producing food for other families in his community. That starts with focusing on cow health, comfort and milk quality every day.

"Producing food for families is a big responsibility," he says. "The decisions we make on the farm — from how we care for our cows to how we handle the milk — are focused on producing a product people can feel good about."

The (short) journey to the lunchroom

For Bateman, one of the special things about school milk is just how local it can be.

Milk from Mosida Dairy travels about 50 miles to a creamery near Salt Lake City, where it's tested, pasteurized and packaged. Some of that milk is used in TruMoo school milk. From the dairy to the school, the journey can take roughly two days.

That means the milk students enjoy at lunch may have started its journey just a short drive away, carefully handled and tested along the way to help maintain its quality.

For Bateman, there's something rewarding about knowing a product his family works hard to produce can end up nourishing students in the same state he calls home.

"It makes you feel good knowing your milk is going to schools and helping kids build healthy eating patterns," Bateman says. "Dairy farmers work hard to produce a quality product no matter where it goes, but knowing students are enjoying it is especially meaningful."

A little carton with a lot of nutrition

Milk isn't just a beverage to wash down lunch. It's an important part of the meal.

As the U.S. Dairy website explains, one serving of milk provides 13 essential nutrients.

Just one cup provides eight grams of high-quality protein, along with nutrients including calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, potassium, phosphorus, riboflavin and iodine.

For growing students, that's a lot packed into one small carton. And it's one reason milk is included as one of the five components of a school lunch, alongside fruits, vegetables, grains and protein foods.

It's also part of what makes producing school milk so meaningful for farmers like Bateman. They aren't simply producing a commodity. They're producing food that becomes part of students' everyday meals.

Healthy habits extend beyond the lunchroom

The habits children develop around food are shaped by many experiences, including what they see and enjoy at home.

Research published by Cambridge University Press found a connection between parents' dairy consumption and their children's dairy consumption, suggesting that the foods and beverages children see modeled at home can influence their own preferences.

"Help your kids develop good eating habits," Bateman says. "Milk and other dairy foods offer a lot of nutrition at a good value, and children pay attention to what they see their parents eating."

For Bateman, that connection makes knowing his milk reaches Utah schools even more meaningful. The same care his family puts into producing milk every day ultimately helps provide nutritious food for families across the state.

And the next time your child grabs a carton of milk in the school lunch line, there may be a Utah dairy farm — and a family like the Batemans — behind it.

To learn more about Utah dairy farmers and dairy nutrition, visit dairywest.com.