Yes! There was a problem subscribing you to this newsletter. A hundred and ten pounds when empty, each dispenser sits on a sturdy, wheeled cart, low enough for children to reach and for staff to restock through a front panel. Get your twice-weekly fix of features, commentary, and insight from the frontlines of American food. A common concern about milk is that, if schools don’t ensure that students take exactly eight ounces of milk, they’ll be out of compliance. Those students leave behind a lot of leftover milk—almost 30 percent, according to, new United States Dept. Bulk dispensers save money on peripheral costs like electricity and waste removal. A reimbursable meal must include at least three of those types, and must include at least one serving of either fruit or vegetables. Amount Per Serving. In order to give you the best experience, we use cookies and similar technologies for performance, analytics, personalisation, advertising, and to help our site function. There’s a lot of waste. “When you look at the cost of garbage disposal, recycling costs, can liners, energy costs, custodial labor costs, all of those things drop,” says Guttchen, now with the Washington State Department of Ecology. Bulk milk isn’t available everywhere. A USDA spokesperson writes: “The regulations … do not mandate any specific type of packaging for milk served as part of the reimbursable meal, nor do they restrict the ability of schools to use milk dispensers. When they came out, they looked at a school and they saw this milk dispenser—they had never seen anything like this before, so they kinda were scratching their heads.”. According to Hossein Akhtarkhavari, who is contracted to oversee food services operations for Columbia Valley and the rest of the Evergreen Public Schools, it actually costs about seven percent more because the milk sacks have to be filled by hand. Great! Ultimately though, steel cows could one day be the new normal in school districts across the country. Set where you live, what language you speak, and the currency you use. of Agriculture data—not to mention tons and tons of empty cartons. Where there’s a will—and increasingly, there seems to be—there’s a way. One confounding issue? If their efforts are duplicated across the country, the environmental benefits could be massive. “We’re looking at finding a way to expand the effort,” says Guttchen. At day’s end, bulk milk dispensers have met barriers, but rarely do they seem insurmountable. The issue? As word of successful milk dispenser pilots has spread, funding opportunities may be growing as well. Ads are shown to you based on a number of factors like relevance and the amount sellers pay per click. Letter to the editor: Author responds to yesterday’s column, From flies to maggots to animal feed: The ultimate upcycle, Is there drunk on Mars? Budweiser promises to bring beer to the red planet, The restaurant industry is turning to prisons to find workers, Sorry, Scott Gottlieb: FDA shouldn’t be allowed to re-define “milk,” no matter what the dairy lobby wants, At the Iowa State Fair, residents pay homage to the state’s increasingly distant agricultural past, The farm industry is pushing for tighter right-to-farm laws across the country, Everything you need to know about New York’s proposal to eliminate the tip credit. These technologies are used for things like: We do this with social media, marketing, and analytics partners (who may have their own information they’ve collected). Despite the evident benefits, some school administrators argue that milk dispensers could violate school lunch regulations set by the USDA. You are granted a personal, revocable, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Services and the Content conditioned on your continued acceptance of, and compliance with, the Terms. You guessed it: white. Saying no will not stop you from seeing Etsy ads, but it may make them less relevant or more repetitive. Milk is not required, but it must be available. A June 2014 report prepared by Peter Guttchen, then with Thurston County’s Department of Solid Waste (which oversees Olympia), states that Olympia High School reduced their annual waste collection costs by $1,970 by switching to dispensers. What worked at Columbia Valley Elementary might not work for a school in Los Angeles, but that’s okay. Nutrition Facts. The most common school milk carton material is plastic. Etsy uses cookies and similar technologies to give you a better experience, enabling things like: Detailed information can be found in Etsy’s Cookies & Similar Technologies Policy and our Privacy Policy. Both Olympia and Clark County schools purchased steel cows with grants from Washington’s Department of Ecology. Some schools have conducted waste audits in order to gauge the impact of milk dispensers. Etsy sellers promote their items through our paid advertising platform. At day’s end, bulk milk dispensers have met barriers, but rarely do they seem insurmountable. “So if we got the plastic washable cups with the milk dispensers, they could get the right amount of milk that they wanted.”. She’s secured funds for five or ten pilots which she hopes to roll out. Milk is not required, but it must be available. Serving Size: 1 Carton Servings Per Container: 1. The most common school milk carton material is plastic. Bailey Payne, waste reduction coordinator for Marion County, says that some of his districts ran into that issue with local dairies that “won’t provide what they’re asking for in bags.” Portland administrators were warned they would also have a hard time sourcing bulk milk if they invested in steel cows. Cartons are tallied as they’re thrown away and leftover milk is measured in dump buckets a) before a steel cow arrives, then b) a few months after. Looks like you already have an account! According to a 2016 report from the state of Vermont, two schools which tested dispensers decided to revert back to milk cartons a) because workers spent time filling cups to guarantee eight ounces were served, b) because of extra labor cleaning up spills, and c) because the price of bulk milk was two cents more expensive per eight ounces. We've sent you an email to confirm your subscription. It will take money and commitment and collaboration and, well, plain old hard work. Kids place reusable plastic cups—typically with 8-ounce fill lines—beneath the spigot, work the lever, and presto. Enter the bulk milk dispenser, colloquially known as a “steel cow.”. Take full advantage of our site features by enabling JavaScript. Paul Flock, supervisor of nutrition services for Olympia Public Schools in Washington state, hoped that his cafeterias could use steel cows, but wasn’t certain. 0 Like this post Log in Add an account. Third-grader Scott Cantonwine wanted the dispensers after discovering how much milk was being wasted. He reasoned that Olympia’s school lunches fulfilled NSLP requirements through combinations of protein, grains, fruit and vegetables—effectively rendering milk optional. Send me exclusive offers, unique gift ideas, and personalised tips for shopping and selling on Etsy. Today, 11 Olympia schools have them. Ann Cooper, director of food services for the Boulder Valley School District in Colorado, worked with milk distributors to bring dispensers into all 52 of her schools. No need to register, buy now! Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. All Other Area School Milk. Ultimately, tens of millions of milk cartons are handed out at lunch every school day and that creates a lot of waste. Check out our school milk carton selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops. Canada | English (UK) | $ (CAD), remembering account, browser, and regional preferences, remembering privacy and security settings, personalised search, content, and recommendations, helping sellers understand their audience, showing relevant, targeted ads on and off Etsy, remember your login, general, and regional preferences, personalise content, search, recommendations, and offers, to ensure that sellers understand their audience and can provide relevant ads. Responding to parental interest in dispensers, Ellersick looked into the possibility but the logistics seemed too tangled. Hope this helps. Take full advantage of our site features by enabling JavaScript. We may modify, suspend or discontinue any aspect of the Services at any time, including the availability of any Services feature, database, or content, or for any reason whatsoever, whether to all users or to you specifically. Each school day since then, Columbia Valley cafeteria workers have filled its pair of twin-spigot machines with five-gallon sacks of nonfat and one-percent milk. Whitney Ellersick, senior director of nutrition services for Portland Public Schools, says that Oregon requires that all food is served before students are rung up by a cashier, and not every cafeteria has room for new equipment inside the serving area. That information is either too open to interpretation, or it isn’t common knowledge for whatever reason. Our independent, deep, and unbiased reporting isn't possible without your support. If you feel that your child is entitled to free mid-morning milk, please contact the school directly to request they register your child with Cool Milk – the school must add the child to their Cool Milk account you cannot do this on their behalf. Saying no will not stop you from seeing Etsy ads, but it may make them less relevant or more repetitive. If you’ve ever gotten milk in, say, a hospital cafeteria or an IKEA, you probably know the design. Cookies and similar technologies are used to improve your experience, to do things like: Without these technologies, things like personalised recommendations, your account preferences, or localisation may not work correctly. Where there’s a will—and increasingly, there seems to be—there’s a way. All rights reserved. “Cups will end up in garbages,” she says. Milk dispensers loosely resemble commercial coffee makers, with a stainless-steel, refrigerated compartment stacked over pour spouts and a drip tray. USDA analysis found nearly 30 percent of school milk cartons are thrown away, untouched . It is your responsibility to review these Terms prior to each use of the Services and, by continuing to use the Services, you agree to all changes as well as Terms in place at the time of the use. You've already signed up for some newsletters, but you haven't confirmed your address.