The Dairy Alliance, a nonprofit funded by dairy farm families in the Southeast, recently celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Red Top Middle School in Bartow County, marking the first middle school in Georgia to offer milk through dispensers rather than traditional cartons. This installation represents a significant step in a statewide effort supported by earmarked funding from Georgia Milk Producers, Inc., with The Dairy Alliance identifying school districts willing to implement milk dispensers in K–12 cafeterias.
Will McWhirter, Manager of Youth Wellness at The Dairy Alliance, emphasized the importance of this innovation for student nutrition. "Milk dispensers are a great way to upgrade real dairy milk for this generation of students," McWhirter said. "It's been a pleasure for me to experience many K–12 students' first sip of real dairy milk from a milk dispenser and seeing their eyes light up while they're still drinking it." The program aims to provide students with colder, fresher milk while reducing packaging waste associated with individual cartons.
Bartow County is leading Georgia's implementation efforts as the first district with multiple schools participating. The district plans to install dispensers across all middle and high schools, totaling seven schools. Betsy Roam, School Nutrition Director of Bartow County, praised her team's initiative. "I'm proud of our school nutrition team at Red Top Middle School for wanting to be a part of this innovative project," Roam said. "Raising your hand and choosing to be the first middle school in Georgia to offer milk dispensers versus the traditional carton shows the staff's dedication to providing quality nutrition to our students."
Seven Georgia school districts have launched or will soon begin offering milk through dispensers, including Cartersville City, Marietta City, Bartow County, Polk County, Calhoun City, Bremen City, and KIPP Charter Schools of Atlanta. In total, the initiative includes 18 schools and 30 milk dispensers statewide. This expansion represents a growing commitment to improving school nutrition programs while supporting local agriculture.
Bryce Trotter, Executive Director of Georgia Milk Producers, Inc., highlighted the dual benefits of the program. "Our Georgia dairy farmers are excited about this opportunity to help support our schools and provide more and colder Georgia-grown milk to our cafeterias," Trotter said. This initiative strengthens connections between students and local dairy farmers while ensuring students receive high-quality dairy products. Georgia dairy farmer Ted Trotter, who has worked on dairies for 40 years, expressed satisfaction with the program's implementation. "It's been a lifelong project of mine to improve the quality of milk for students, and these dispensers are by far and away the best thing that we've come up with," Trotter said. "I'm glad to see we're finally starting to get some implementation and support from local schools."
The Dairy Alliance continues to work with school districts and dairy partners across the Southeast to expand access to milk dispensers. To learn more about their initiatives, visit https://thedairyalliance.com. This program represents a meaningful shift in how schools approach nutrition service delivery, potentially serving as a model for other states seeking to improve student access to fresh dairy products while supporting local agricultural economies.
