By: Nikki Nies
While many parents and families may worry about vitamin D and/or calcium deficiency, the Special Milk Program is available to help those in need. For those not familiar with this USDA program, it provides milk to children in schools, child care and/or camps that don’t participate in additional government funded meal programs.
In 2012, by reimbursing schools for the cost of milk, schools have been able to provide 3,647 schools and residential
child care institutions participated, along with 571 summer camps and 482 non‐residential child
care institutions.
Since the regular consumption of milk is important for growth and development, providing calcium, protein and vitamin A, the special milk program is great avenue to ensure children receive a portion of their recommended intake of dairy products.
Check out http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/income-eligibility-guidelines on their website.
Sources: http://www.fns.usda.gov/smp/special-milk-program
Click to access SMP_Quick_Facts_0.pdf
https://www.google.com/search?q=special+milk+program&oq=special+milk+program+&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i61j69i60j0l3.2162j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=119&ie=UTF-8
http://www.extension.org/pages/68764/the-special-milk-program:-an-introduction
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