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Getting organic into schools is an absolute imperative, and if it can be done while also benefitting small organic farmers, even better.
With both of these objectives in mind, Jenny Lester Moffitt, the USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, was recently in Vermont at Miller Farm, where she announced that the USDA’s Organic Dairy Product Promotion program will be allocating $15 million to expand access to organic dairy products in educational institutions and youth programs.
Funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation, the program will increase consumption of organic dairy products among children and young adults while creating new opportunities for small and mid-sized organic dairy producers.
“Expanding access to a variety of organic dairy products in schools and community programs promotes healthy consumption habits and strengthens local dairy markets,” said Under Secretary Moffitt. “Announcing the Organic Dairy Product Promotion program during National Farm to School Month is yet another way to celebrate USDA’s commitment to connecting producers to new, local markets and providing youth with healthy, fresh dairy products from nearby farms.”
The USDA will not be doling out the money directly.
Instead, the agency will enter into cooperative agreements with four organizations across the country, including the University of California — Fresno, University of Tennessee, Vermont Agency of Agriculture — Food & Markets, and University of Wisconsin.
Each of these organizations currently leads one of the four Dairy Business Innovation (DBI) Initiatives and will be tasked with increasing domestic consumption of organic dairy products among children and young adults, as well as building local partnerships to facilitate distribution in the region.
MY TAKE
1) One concern that I had about this program was that small organic farmers, who are overstretched as is, would not have the bandwidth to fill out the necessary paperwork or the time to find local partners in their region. Therefore, large organic dairies, who already have a significant infrastructure in place, would have the resources to capture all of the available funding.
When I brought this up to the Under Secretary, she said that is precisely why the DBIs are involved — to help with the program’s applications, find schools or youth programs in the region that are interested in the organic dairy products, and act as an overall facilitator.
The fact that the USDA had given this real thought, so as to meet the small organic farmers where they are, was very encouraging. However, once the money is doled out, we can then judge how and to what degree the small farms actually benefitted from this program.
2) With 2023 organic milk and cream sales reaching $4.2 billion in 2023, $15 million is a relatively small amount.
That being said, this program is a critical start, and the U.S. government funding organic milk purchases for children at schools and youth programs must be applauded, regardless of the dollar figure. And if the program goes well, it could lead to greater funding down the road.
Just as important is what cannot be quantified.
With organic milk making inroads at schools, these institutions will get valuable exposure to organic. Not only could this spur them to find other ways to increase their purchases of additional organic items, such as fruits, vegetables and meats, but it could also result in children, teachers, mentors and coaches having meaningful conversations about what organic means and how it is important for their health.
As a new administration is set to take control of the USDA, this is one program that should be kept and expanded to a much greater degree.
Getting organic into schools and youth programs should be a non-negotiable, irrespective of which party is running our country.
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With gratitude, 
Max Goldberg, Founder |
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