Media Release
18 June 2003

Milk For Schools Should Continue

New Zealand First’s family affairs spokesperson Barbara Stewart says she fully supports the Hawkes Bay District Health Boards milk-in-schools programme and hopes that other District Health Boards will follow suit.

The Hawkes Bay District Health Board is trialing a programme supplying daily milk to the children in a local primary school.

“It would be a worthwhile programme for other DHBs to start, particularly in low decile schools,” said Mrs Stewart.

“It can only be beneficial to the health and well being of the young students.

“If we can teach children the benefits of a regular intake of milk in their daily diet then perhaps we can stop these children having health problems further down the line.

“Research has shown that children who do not drink milk regularly are more likely to suffer from obesity. Any measure that promotes a more balanced diet is to be recommended.

“I can only praise the Hawkes Bay District Health Board for their initiative and suggest that other DHBs look at similar programmes,” said Mrs Stewart.

ENDS

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