Fonterra Milk for Schools marks fifth anniversary: Richie McCaw to do special milk runs
As the Fonterra Milk for Schools programme enters its fifth year Richie McCaw will help mark the milestone with a series of special helicopter milk runs to schools.
Last year through the programme Fonterra and its farmers provided nearly 20 million packs of milk free to over 145,000 primary school children across the country. The value of the programme has been independently underlined by two University health studies showing health benefits to participating students, particularly with improved bone and dental health.
As part of marking the milestone Fonterra ambassador Richie McCaw will visit four schools selected from online nominations that will include a brief description about why he should visit. Where possible, he will fly in by helicopter to deliver some milk. Local farmers will also be part of the visit.
Fonterra Milk for Schools started in 2012 with 119 schools and grew to 1,431 by the end of 2017. The New Zealand dietary guidelines recommend that school children consume at least two to three servings of milk every day.
“The programme continues to grow and two things stand out about it for us - ensuring Kiwi kids get a daily dose of quality nutrition and the generosity of Fonterra and its farmers to make it happen,” Fonterra General Manager, Community Programmes, Chris Ward said.
The programme’s value doesn’t stop with the milk. It also assists with a sustainability initiative where the tetra packs containing the milk are recycled and used to make a range of items from school books to roof tiles in Thailand. The packs are sent there because currently there is no tetra recycling machine in New Zealand.
Primary schools can be nominated from Tuesday February 20th until March 19th on Fonterra.com. Updates can be followed on Fonterra’s Facebook page.