It’s milk’s time to shine with kids

Milk has always been a part of childhood, and with good reason: Kids love milk. It taste greats, and kids also know it’s good for them.

Kids’ consumption accounts for nearly half of all milk volume, but over the past few years, consumption has been on the decline. There are more beverages than ever fighting hard for kids’ attention, and often moms offer other options instead of serving milk.

In 2017, MilkPEP launched the Milk It! campaign, an effort that speaks directly to kids encouraging them to ask for and drink more milk. The best way to do that? Meet kids where they are — and that means making sure milk is a key part of their school day.

That’s why I’m so excited to work with the National Dairy Council’s Fuel Up to Play 60 program to create the Time to Milk It! campaign — to make milk the star of in-school healthy eating efforts. The new initiative leverages the powerful Fuel Up to Play 60 program — an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Dairy Council and NFL, in collaboration with the USDA, to help encourage today's youth to lead healthier lives.

Placing milk at the forefront of Fuel Up to Play 60’s nutrition efforts is a big win. Dottie Ryan, vice president, Fuel Up to Play 60 at Dairy Management Inc., agreed.  

“We could not be more thrilled about the launch of the Time to Milk It! Campaign,” she said. “Working together, our teams have been able to not only provide valuable resources to schools, but to find authentic, engaging ways to encourage kids to drink more (and think more about) milk.”

Time to Milk It! offers schools tips, resources and tools to upgrade their Healthy Eating Plays with milk, plus provides chances to win awesome prizes. For the Grand Prize — a smoothie bike personally delivered by an NFL player — Fuel Up to Play 60 schools will show us how they Milk It! by sharing an original video.

Now through April 12, you can help encourage Fuel Up to Play 60 schools to shine a spotlight on how real milk helps students do all the amazing things they do. Be sure to follow the video entries on YouTube and social media with #MilkIt and #FuelGreatness through April 12, and consider supporting your local Fuel Up to Play 60 school’s “Time To Milk It!” activities by offering additional support, product or even prizing for your own Milk It! competitions.

MilkPEP provides strategic communications and marketing tools for milk brands and the dairy community. If you’d like more information about the Time to Milk It! program and other ways to win with kids, contact Miranda Abney at MAbney@MilkPEP.org.