Fonterra Milk for Schools attracts plenty of interest
Fonterra Milk for Schools attracts interest from more than half of NZ's Primary Schools
Contacting
Fonterra has been on the to-do list for many New Zealand
primary schools since the 2013 school year kicked off –
and more than half of the country’s eligible schools have
now expressed interest in Fonterra Milk for Schools.
More than 1100 schools, representing about 191,000
kids, have registered their interest in the nationwide
programme which will provide free milk to primary-aged
children every school day. This is on top of the more than
110 schools already participating in
Northland.
Fonterra Group General Manager Global
Co-operative Social Responsibility Carly Robinson says the
number of schools getting in contact has been growing by the
day.
“It’s great to see such a strong appetite
for Fonterra Milk for Schools throughout New Zealand and as
the programme rolls out this will mean that more Kiwi kids
will get the chance to drink a healthy, nutritious product
while they’re at school each day,” she
says.
“So far, expressions of interest have come
from a range of schools across all deciles from throughout
the country.”
One of the first schools to log on
to the Fonterra Milk for Schools website when the nationwide
rollout was announced in December was Howick
Primary.
Howick Primary Principal Leyette Callister
says while she knows the programme won’t start rolling out
in Auckland until the end of the year she still wanted to
put her hand up straight away.
“I think it’s
fantastic that Fonterra is running this programme. Dairy is
really important for kids and it’s the perfect substitute
for unhealthy, sugary snacks which have become so popular.
I’m looking forward to working with Fonterra to make it a
part of our school day,” she says.
“I’ve
already had a parent get in touch asking me to take up the
free school milk programme and it was great to say that I
expressed interest the day it was announced.”
In
the North Island 784 schools have expressed interest,
representing around 143,000 children, and the South Island
has attracted interest from 347 schools, equal to around
47,000 eligible milk drinkers.
“Because Fonterra
Milk for Schools is such a big undertaking, we’re asking
primary schools to register their interest to help us
determine the potential uptake,” says Ms
Robinson.
“As we roll out the programme in each
region we will then send application information to those
schools that have been in contact with
us.”
Fonterra Milk for Schools starts in
Southland towards the end of Term 1 with Christchurch
following a few weeks after. It’s expected by the end of
Term 1 2014 all schools who want to take part in the
programme will have access to milk every school
day.
ENDS