Farmers Buy Milk Machines for Schools

By Trish Anderton on Wednesday, May 21, 2003.

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For years, soft drink companies have used vending machines in schools to sell their products directly to kids. Now, some New Hampshire dairy farmers are taking on the big soda companies. Farmers in the North Country are raising money to install milk vending machines in schools. NHPR?S Trish Anderton reports.

TO GET TO THE CAFETERIA AT WOODSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL, YOU WALK THROUGH A HALLWAY LINED WITH VENDING MACHINES. THE BRIGHTLY-COLORED DISPENSERS PEDDLE EVERYTHING FROM WATER TO CANDY TO COKE. TRADITIONALLY, IF YOU WANTED MILK, YOU HAD TO GO ALL THE WAY DOWNSTAIRS TO THE LUNCHROOM. BUT SIX WEEKS AGO, THAT CHANGED.

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THAT?S THE SOUND OF A 16-OUNCE CHOCOLATE MILK TUMBLING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SCHOOL?S NEW MILK VENDING MACHINE. THE MACHINE SPORTS A JAUNTY, BLACK AND WHITE, COW PATTERN. IT OFFERS STRAWBERRY, VANILLA, CHOCOLATE, AND COFFEE-FLAVORED MILK. THERE?S EVEN PLAIN MILK FOR THE PURIST, AS WELL AS YOGURT AND SANDWICHES. FRESHMAN LOGAN WHEELER IS A CHOCOLATE MILK FAN. HE SAYS HE BUYS MORE NOW THAT IT?S EASIER TO GET.

they had it downstairs but its better that its upstairs cuz you don?t have to go all the way down there.

OTHER STUDENTS ARE LESS ENTHUSED. JEFF PUSHEE IS BUYING A COKE FROM A NEARBY MACHINE. HE SAYS HE BUYS MILK ONLY ONCE IN A WHILE.

I tried the strawberry. the banana actually isn?t too bad. I see a lot of people carrying the milk bottles around school

THE MACHINE IS HERE THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF LOCAL DAIRY FARMERS.

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DEBORAH ERB KEEPS ABOUT A HUNDRED BLACK-AND-WHITE HOLSTEINS AT HER FARM IN LANDAFF. SHE?S BEEN ITCHING TO GET VENDING MACHINES INTO THE SCHOOLS.

farmers have always felt milk is a good product. for some reason the soft drink industry is light years ahead of us. they realized if they got machines in schools students will buy.

ERB GOT FIRED UP AFTER SHE WENT TO A DAIRY COUNCIL MEETING AND SAW SOME NEW MARKETING RESEARCH. STUDIES FOUND KIDS WILL BUY MILK IF IT?S PRESENTED DIFFERENTLY. NANCY SANDBATCH OF THE NEW ENGLAND DAIRY AND FOODS COUNCIL SAYS THAT MEANS NO MORE LITTLE CARDBOARD CARTONS THAT RIP AND SPILL. STUDENTS WANT PLASTIC BOTTLES. THEY WANT FLAVORS. AND THEY DON?T WANT MILK THAT?S BEEN SITTING AROUND ON THE CAFETERIA COUNTER. IT HAS TO BE ICE COLD.

21 00 the results were fantastic. in fact milk sales increased on average 18 percent when an enhanced milk experience was provided to kids in schools. that?s fabulous.

THAT WAS ALL ERB NEEDED TO HEAR. SHE CALLED SOME FELLOW DAIRY FARMERS. THEY DECIDED TO BUY FIVE VENDING MACHINES FOR LOCAL SCHOOLS. THE FARMERS BEGAN WRITING GRANT APPLICATIONS AND HITTING UP ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE LIONS CLUB. MILK VENDING MACHINES COST ABOUT 4-THOUSAND DOLLARS. THE FARMERS GIVE THE MACHINES OUTRIGHT TO THE SCHOOLS, WHICH MAINTAIN THEM, STOCK THEM WITH WHATEVER PRODUCTS THEY CHOOSE, AND KEEP THE PROFITS. ERB SAYS THIS IS NOT ABOUT SELLING HER OWN MILK IN SCHOOLS. INSTEAD, IT?S AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE.

it would serve as a way of making lifelong milk drinkers, if they got it cold and attractively pkgd they?d drink it the rest of their life.

FURTHERMORE, GOING TO BATTLE AGAINST COKE AND PEPSI IS A WAY FOR ERB TO ACTIVELY DEFEND HER LIVELIHOOD. THESE DAYS DAIRY FARMERS DON?T HAVE A LOT OF CONTROL OVER THEIR BUSINESS. THE GOVERNMENT SETS THE PRICE FOR MILK. FARMERS RELY ON FEDERAL SUBSIDIES TO STAY AFLOAT. HUGE COMPANIES CONTROL MORE AND MORE OF THE BUSINESS. ERB KNOWS PUTTING MILK MACHINES IN FIVE SCHOOLS WON?T CHANGE ALL THAT. BUT IT?S SATISFYING.

22 207 its something tangible farmers can get their hands around. 23 135 we can?t control the weather, and we cant control the price, but milk vending machines are something we can work towards.

FARMERS IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY HAVE COME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION. INDUSTRY GROUPS FROM WEST VIRGINIA TO SOUTH DAKOTA ARE HELPING SCHOOLS BUY MILK VENDING MACHINES. THEY?RE TAPPING INTO A GROWING NATIONAL CONCERN ABOUT KIDS AND SOFT DRINKS. SODA MACHINES ARE A BIG MONEY-MAKER FOR SCHOOLS. BUT THE SUGARY DRINKS ARE NOW BEING BLAMED FOR EVERYTHING FROM CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND DIABETES, TO CALCIUM DEFICIENCY. NANCY SANDBATCH OF THE DAIRY AND FOODS COUNCIL SAYS MILK CAN BE PART OF THE ANSWER.

21 31 when more milk is sold in schools, as a dietician I know more kids having access to super nutritious products and that makes us feel good.

STILL, KIDS QUITTING SODA TO LOSE WEIGHT SHOULD BE CAREFUL. THAT 16-OUNCE BOTTLE OF WHOLE CHOCOLATE MILK PACKS A WHOPPING 460 CALORIES ? AND MORE THAN HALF THE RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE OF SATURATED FAT. LOW-FAT OR SKIM VERSIONS ARE PROBABLY A BETTER CHOICE. MORE STUDENTS IN THE NORTH COUNTRY MAY HAVE THEIR CHOICE OF MILK SOON. FARMER DEBORAH ERB SAYS HER GROUP HAS ALMOST RAISED ENOUGH MONEY TO PLACE A VENDING MACHINE IN THE LISBON REGIONAL SCHOOL. FOR NHPR NEWS I?M TRISH ANDERTON.