New Zealand health professionals have applauded the move to
bring back free milk for school children.
The NZ College of Public Health Medicine said a "significant
number'' of children are living in circumstances where their
nutritional needs are not being met.
Dr Julia Peters, President of the College, said that the
Fonterra `milk in schools programme' is a step in the right
direction.
She said: "We applaud this move by Fonterra. It's heartening
to see a major corporate supporting the health needs of the
most vulnerable members of society, our children.
"It is a constructive response to recent criticism that the
price of milk has put it out of reach of a lot of New
Zealanders.
"Simple initiatives such as this rolled out at a national
level will help to promote the health and wellbeing of our
children, delivering better health outcomes for future
generations.''
The scheme will be trialled at 110 Northland primary schools
next year.
Fonterra says it will refrigerate the milk to ensure pupils
don't have to drink warm milk.
Dr Peters added: "The College of Public Health Medicine
supports and encourages the development of programmes such as
this that contribute to positive changes in our population's
health.''
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