Real Facts about Real Dairy in School Meals

Presented by: Robert Murray, MD and Dayle Hayes, MS, RD

Dairy foods play an important role in child nutrition programs due to their unique nutrient package; however, students are not meeting the recommended servings of dairy. You may have recently seen headlines promoting vegan school meals or the elimination of flavored milk as a way to make school meals healthier. While it’s important to offer choices, there may be unintended consequences associated with these changes and the way they are being promoted, including students falling even shorter on nutrient recommendations.

This webinar will explore the nutritional contributions of dairy foods to student health and answer common questions related to dairy alternatives and flavored milk. Learn why you can feel good about encouraging your students to choose dairy.


Upon completion of the training attendees will:

  • Explain the nutrient contributions of dairy in the diet and why it is included in the school meal patterns.
  • Describe the nutritional differences between milk, lactose-free milk, and dairy alternative beverages.
  • Identify strategies to encourage consumption of milk and dairy foods in school meal programs.

Please note you will need to answer a few questions to view the webinar recording and to access your CPU or CPE. 

Related Resources

Title Description
10 Ways to Encourage Students to Drink Milk 10 Creative ways to encourage students to drink milk. (PDF) Download
10 Reasons to Encourage Students to Drink Milk Evidence-based reasons for the role of dairy and milk in students diets. (PDF) Download
10 Reasons to Encourage Students to Drink Milk Evidence-based reasons for the role of dairy and milk in students diets. (Google Doc for easy cut and paste) Download
Real Facts about Real Dairy in School Meals Presentation Slide Deck (PDF) Download
Kids and Chocolate Milk Nutrition information about chocolate milk for kids. Download
Know Your Milk Information for nutrition, ingredients, and cost per serving for milk and milk alternatives. Download
Webinar Q&A Questions and answers from Real Facts about Real Dairy in School Meal Webinar. View

Sign up for our monthly newsletter!