WESTON, WIS (WAOW TV-WSAU) — Your child’s lunchtime routine might include milk, but some school districts are now struggling with getting enough supply for students.
According to Wisconsin Public Radio, Borden Dairy announced in May it would be closing its Illinois plant, and cutting back to only producing sour cream at its De Pere plant.
That left Laticia Baudhuin, Director of School Nutrition at D.C. Everest School District, scrambling for a solution. “We were bid on by another dairy so we have been picked up by another dairy this fall,” she said. “But that hasn’t been without its hiccups.”
Hiccups including the amount of milk the district receives, and how much it’s costing. The district’s deliveries are down to three times per week instead of daily, and costs are up 30%.
On Tuesday, just under a week into the school year, supply was already being impacted. “We had three schools without milk for lunch, and I think that’s just going to be something we have to get used to,” Baudhuin said.
While the district is alright financially, and the costs won’t change for parents, Baudhuin says she’s not sure if they can keep it up for another school year.
“If it increases by 30 percent every year, there’s no way,” she said. “It’s a fact of life that we have to serve milk as part of the national school lunch program, and as part of the school breakfast program, so I don’t really have a choice.”
News 9 reached out to the Wausau School District. A spokesperson said they’re not experiencing any issues with milk supply this year, and that they have plenty of milk available for students.
