Report: Fonterra to bring free milk back to primary schools
Date: 15 Dec 2011
Free milk is coming back to primary schools as dairy giant Fonterra prepares to launch a peace offensive with New Zealanders.
The country's biggest company is to make an announcement tomorrow on "initiatives to help make milk more accessible to Kiwis".
Sources told the Waikato Times the target is young school children and the milk will be free.
When milk delivery will start, how long Fonterra intends to donate milk and whether it is acting alone or partnering with community agencies is unknown. But free school milk will be a public relations winner for the farmer-owned company, which controls the price of milk at most sales levels in New Zealand.
It has been in hot water with consumers over climbing dairy product prices, including fresh milk. It has linked rising prices at the supermarket chiller to the strong prices it has received for its farmers' product in international markets in the past 18 months.
Free milk was last seen in Kiwi primary schools 44 years ago.
It was given to school children between 1937 and 1967 under a world-first Labour Government health scheme. Each day "milk monitors" gave a half pint (284 ml) of milk to each pupil and by 1940, milk was available to 80 per cent of schoolchildren.
The scheme was dropped in 1967 by the government of the day on cost grounds and because the public was starting to question the benefits of milk.
A vocal critic of the rising prices and Fonterra's dominance in price setting was watchdog ConsumerNZ. Chief executive Sue Chetwin said it would be "fantastic" if Fonterra gave milk to schools.
"It would be hugely generous and a massive PR pat on the back for them. "
More at Waikato Times.
