Article in Western Morning News - Friday 3 October 2003

HEALTHY OPTION: Dairyman Robert Meadows at Riverford Farm, which is supplying pupils of Shiphay Community Primary School in Torquay with local organic milk to encourage them to drink fewer sweet and fizzy drinks. Since 'Mabel' the milk machine was introduced the school's consumption has risen from ten litres a week to nearer 60

Warm welcome for chilled milk

As part of the Milk in Schools initiative which is running across Britain throughout the week, a Westcountry producer has launched a new scheme which could be copied around the region. ANDREA KUHN reports
A PROJECT to provide local organic milk direct to a nearby school could pave the way for a new trend in the Westcountry.
The Organic Dairy at Riverford Farm, Staverton, near Totnes in South Devon, is now supplying fresh chilled milk daily to all pupils at Shiphay Community Primary School in Torquay.
It comes during National School Milk Week - a campaign to see more milk provided for young pupils.
It is hoped that the move will also help children cut down on the number of fizzy drinks they have while still maintaining a high fluid intake.
Research has shown that regular and frequent drinking helps the children to learn and retain information.
Charles Perryman, sales and marketing manager at Riverford Farm, said they had approached a number of schools in their delivery area, but Shiphay was the first to seize the opportunity.
"The farmer, dairy manager and myself all have children and we remember having milk when we were in school so it really came out of that," he said.
"Before we started this the school used to get through around ten litres a week, and now they are looking at possibly using around 60 litres."
Many children will have never tasted full-fat milk, which is crucial for healthy growth and development.
Free school milk was withdrawn in the 1970s by Margaret Thatcher, the then Secretary of State for Education, as a cost-saving device, and in the intervening years skimmed and semi-skimmed milk have been regarded by some as a healthier option.
Now it is hoped that similar schemes will bridge the gap for children whose parents tend to drink reduced fat milk at home.
The children at Shiphay School have now been introduced to "Mabel", a restaurant-style milk chiller, which means they can get a drink at the push of a button. It has become part of a daily routine break when they are also encouraged to eat more fruit.
Elaine Gill, headteacher at Shiphay School, said the project was already very popular with the children.
"We had been looking to find a way to offer healthy drinks to the children and understood that often the drinks brought in from home were less attractive to drink once they warmed up as the day went on," she said. "We remember having warm milk served in bottles as children, and couldn't see that being attractive.
"We already have a Healthy Schools Award and this fits in well with our other 'healthy' initiatives such as 'Fit for Learning', where children have 15 minutes' physical exercise at the beginning of every day."
She also said Riverford was able to offer the milk at a cheaper price than in most shops. The Farm Dairy was set up four years ago and uses only the milk from the farm's own cows.
It is all pasteurised and packed on the farm before being to delivered to customers in the area on the same day.
Mr Perryman said they were keen to hear from any other school or college in the Teignbridge, South Hams or Plymouth area which would be interested in having fresh milk delivered.

Back to news index