June is National Dairy Month

Date: May 7, 2019 Posted by Amy Mail Twitter Facebook

Help raise awareness of dairy and its role in a healthy diet by observing National Dairy Month in June. It's the perfect time to have classes take a field trip to a local dairy farm, or invite a farmer to schools to talk with students. The Midwest Dairy Council offers a toolkit of resources you can use for social media posts, trivia contests and posters for your cafeteria. (The materials aren't written specifically for schools, so choose what's relevant for you or adapt as needed.)

Outside of National Dairy Month, the Dairy Council also provides free educator resources and Farm-to-School resources as well as materials relevant for parents and consumers to use throughout the year. Visit www.MidwestDairy.com to find recipes, health and nutritional worksheets, infographics and more. One of the programs the Dairy Council provides for educators is Discover Dairy, an interactive, cross-curricular, multi-leveled educational series of lessons that meets Common CORE Standards for math, science and reading.

The National Dairy Council also supports kids' active lifestyles through its partnership with the National Football League on Fuel Up to Play 60. The school wellness program has been implemented in 73,000 schools across the country! It encourages youth to choose nutrient-rich foods, including milk, cheese and yogurt and to play for at least 60 minutes each day. If your school/s do not yet participate, you may want to look into the program and have someone from your wellness committee become a program advisor. Becoming a participating school allows you to access additional resources for wellness and physical fitness activities as well as grants to fund the Fuel Up to Play 60 "plays" you choose to implement.