The Dairy Council for Northern Ireland has teamed up with Olympic medallist Richard Chambers on World School Milk Day to celebrate the importance of milk for children in schools across Northern Ireland.
Following his recent Olympic success, milk ambassador Richard is taking up a new challenge. Currently, 60% of pupils in primary schools make use of the EU School milk scheme; in partnership with the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, Richard is calling for a 10% increase by World School Milk Day 2013 especially among nurseries.
Recognising the importance of good nutrition, the Dairy Council has been involved in running a number of initiatives throughout primary schools to drive awareness of the benefits of milk for growing children.
Olympic medallist Richard has endorsed the importance of milk:
“Growing up, drinking milk was a regular daily routine and mum would always have the fridge stocked up with milk. It has continued to play an important role in my day to day health and training regime throughout adulthood and no doubt helped me on my road to success during the Olympic Games.
“I believe it is really important for young children to have milk every day to help keep them healthy and focused in schools. That is why I am also calling for an increase in milk consumption in schools across Northern Ireland.”
Dr. Mike Johnston, Chief Executive of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, added:
“We are delighted to have the support of such a successful Olympian like Richard to endorse the importance of milk for both nursery and primary school children. Milk contains nutrients that can play an important role in a child’s health and development and it is important that we establish the routine of milk drinking from a young age so that this habit will continue into adulthood.
"As well as being fantastic value for money, a carton of school milk is rich in calcium, essential for healthy bones and teeth. It also contains a wide range of other nutrients including protein, potassium, iodine, phosphorous and B vitamins with functions ranging from making red blood cells to nerve and muscle function and skin health. Break time milk is also a good source of fluid helping to keep children hydrated in the classroom and maintain concentration levels.”
Find out more about school milk here.