Announcing the 3rd Annual Leadership in School Nutrition Award Winners: Nutrition Explorations

Union City School District and Farmland Dairies are the First Place Winners!

Union City School District, Union City, N.J., and Farmland Dairies LLC, Wallington N.J., have been named the First Place winning team of the third annual Leadership in School Nutrition (LISN) Award. The award, sponsored by National Dairy Council® and Dairy Field® magazine, acknowledges and promotes positive partnerships between dairy processors and schools through innovations in milk programming using kid-appealing plastic packaging, nationally known as the New Look of School Milk. Both of the First Place winners received $5,000 to be used toward future school nutrition efforts.

New Look of School Milk Heralded with the Loudest Moo!

Union City School District's (UCSD) school year began with the introduction of the New Look of School Milk in 13 schools. But it didn't come in quietly! More than 1,200 students filled the gym at Robert Waters Elementary School to greet the "New Look" and deliver the message of how important milk is in a healthy diet with the "World's Loudest Moo Contest." Farmland Dairies, sponsors of the contest, brought in a sound company to measure the moo; it was recorded at 142 decibels, louder than a plan taking off! In addition, Farmland brought Crystal the Cow to the event to "partner" with the delightful paper mache cow that art students had created. And all the students were outfitted in Farmland Dairies "The World's Loudest Moo" T-Shirts.

The contest set a world record, which is being verified for the Guiness Book of World Records and earned coverage from local TV and cable stations, plus a photo spread in the newspaper.

UCSD and Farmland Dairies partnered to provide students with milk in 8-oz. plastic bottles in 1% with Omega 3, 1%, whole, 2% and fat-free white milk and 1% in chocolate and strawberry. Milk sales for the 2007-08 school year is estimated to be up significantly, to about 1.5 million bottles and breakfast and lunch meal participation has increased 20 percent.

Other Winning Partnerships

Also recognized for their partnerships were Second Place winners, Brownsville Independent School District, Brownsville, Texas and Borden Milk Products LP, Austin, Texas, each receiving $2,000 and Third Place winners, Arlington Heights School District 25, Arlington Heights, Ill., and Kemps Dairy, Chicago, Ill., each receiving $1,000 as rewards for their successful innovations in milk programming.

Be a Winner with the New Look of School Milk Next Year!

Start partnering with your dairy processor now to get the New Look of School Milk, implement innovative milk programming, achieve these excellent results and be winners next year! Applications will be available for the 2009 LISN Award in early September 2008.

For more information about the LISN Award please visit www.LISN-Awards.org.