Local students celebrate World Milk Day.
Students win challenge with milk consumption at 92 percent of cafeteria meals in 2016-17 school year.
Last week marked a special day on the calendar many might not have considered before as local school children took time out to celebrate something we drink every day: milk.
Polk School District joined in the celebration with 40 countries around the globe for World School Milk Days during the month of September.
For local school kids, this meant the chance to meet the traveling giant Mayfield dairy cow Maggie in a challenge most kids might not even known they were taking part in this past school year.
According to a press release from Dr. Linda Holland, the school system’s director of School Nutrition, each school took part in the Maggie Milk Cow Challenge to see what the highest percentage of milk consumption was for the previous school year on an average basis.
Youngs Grove Elementary won the contest with 92 percent of the meals served in the cafeteria for the 2016-17 school year. They were recognized by having the cow visit the school last week on Sept. 27.
The Food and Agriculture Organization created World School Milk Day to focus attention on school milk with celebrations in countries around the globe highlighting the health benefits of milk.
Milk in all flavors is a Powerhouse Beverage and a great source of natural fuel for the body — milk provides the power of protein to build muscles, calcium and vitamin D for strong bones and teeth, potassium to keep the heart healthy, along with five other important vitamins and minerals needed every day, the release stated.