The milk carton scarcity is expected to continue, affecting not just Rochester schools but also nursing homes and prisons.
The Rochester City School District announced that pupils would not be given milk but would instead be given juice.
The problem is that there aren’t enough half-pint cartons for individual milk packing. So there isn’t a milk crisis, but there are problems delivering milk to customers due to supply chain concerns.
For others, obtaining pint-sized milk cartons and pouring it into cups may be the answer, however this may be difficult for smaller children. This, however, does not simply effect milk-serving establishments; it also impacts dairy producers and animals.
“It’s concerning as a dairy farmer to hear that there are any issues getting our product in front of consumers,” said Kendra Lamb, a dairy farmer in Western New York. “Because our cows obviously continue to produce milk all year.” As a result, the demand component is critical.”
One possible challenge is having milk delivered and out the door.
“Because our product is quite perishable, any decrease in demand would undoubtedly be a source of concern for us.” But we’re confident that our cooperatives will be able to work with cafeterias, hospitals, nursing homes, and jails to find another means to offer healthful milk to those in need,” Lamb added.
However, Lamb is optimistic that this will be a short-term issue that will be resolved without further affecting dairy farmers.
According to an email from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, jails and prisons will purchase bigger cartons of milk and serve it to prisoners in glasses for the time being.
The Northeast Dairy Producers Association issued the following statement on Wednesday:
“The recent announcement of a shortage of individual milk cartons may have ramifications for school cafeterias across the country.” The bottleneck is caused by a lack of packing materials, which limits the supply of cartons. To be clear, this is a packaging problem, not a milk supply one. In New York State, the work of family dairy farms and the supply of locally produced milk remains robust and consistent.
“Dairy processors are working hard with industry partners to find alternative solutions for serving fresh nutritious milk in schools as well as other institutions such as hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons, such as pouring milk from gallon jugs and investigating the possibility of installing milk dispensers.” We recommend school food service directors to contact their dairy wholesalers to determine the best milk supply arrangement for their district while this packaging problem is fixed.”
