“Everyone needs milk,” Malcolm told Dairy News. “Even though we are a high-decile school, the kids win… if the kids win, we all win.”
Fonterra launched its Milk for Schools North Island regional (excluding the earlier pilot scheme in Northland) at the school in the heart of dairy country in late June, the first of 130 Waikato schools to sign up. The South Island is now fully on board.
Malcolm says within two days of it starting at his school it was operating “like a well-oiled machine” because the teachers were on board. And the children had more energy and focus.
Earlier Malcolm said told several hundred at the official opening that Fonterra is the biggest contributor to our economy. “However there is also no doubt that some time in the future our biggest export item will be the brain power of our people,” he said.
As educators they would do anything to enhance the education experience of their children and raise achievement.
“Why are schools so eager to be involved in the Milk for Schools programme? It is simple, healthy food equals healthy kids. Healthy kids equal better outcomes. Better learning outcomes mean a brighter educational future for our children which leads to a brighter future for our country.
“The Milk for Schools programme is an investment into our children and into the future of country that every New Zealand should feel extremely proud of. This initiative will be the envy of countries around the world and held up as an example of a company which genuinely believes in social and environmental responsibility.”
Waipa district mayor Alan Livingston said Fonterra was contributing to the health of the children. “It is not just providing milk and leaving it up to the schools to work out how to deliver it and other logistical aspects. Refrigeration, recycling… makes it an efficient programme.”
Fonterra general manager cooperative social responsibility Carly Robinson says it takes a big team to make something like Milk for Schools to happen. “We have partnered with some great organizations” including Fisher and Paykel, Tetra Pak, Mainfreight and Ebbett Holden.
