The tiny half-liter cartons of milk that are served with millions of school lunches across the country may soon be on the decline in some cafeterias, with districts across the country scrambling to find alternatives.
The problem is not the shortage of milk itself, but the cardboard cartons used to package and serve it, according to dairy industry suppliers and state officials.
Pactiv Evergreen of Lake Forest, Illinois, which bills itself as “North America’s leading producer of fresh food and beverage packaging” acknowledged in a statement Friday that it “continues to experience significantly higher than projected demand” for its milk cartons.
The shortage affected the company’s ability to “fully supply some school milk orders,” according to Matt Herrick, a spokesman for the International Dairy Foods Association.
School officials in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Washington state said they were preparing for the shortage, while the US Department of Agriculture acknowledged that the supply chain problem affected “multiple states.”
A cafeteria manager sorts individual cartons of milk in the Belmont Senior High cafeteria in Los Angeles, California on May 3, 2011.AP
In California, state education officials are telling schools to be flexible in how they offer milk to children, including limiting milk choices; use stable boxed milk; and prepare milk using a bulk dispenser.
The shortage of cartons – which could also affect milk and juice served in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons – has forced officials across the country to think about backup plans.
In Clarence, New York, local school district officials told parents they planned to provide “small water bottles or milk cups with lids” if the cartons ran out.
The shortage affects the company’s ability to “fully supply some school milk orders,” a spokeswoman for the International Dairy Foods Association said.AP
In Lake Stevens, Washington, 40 miles from Seattle, chocolate milk was missing from a dairy delivery this week, said Jayme Taylor, director of communications for the local school district.
“That’s the only complaint we’ve received from students,” he said in an email.
Milk should be served with school meals, but officials with the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service issued a memo late last month that allows districts to provide different types or sizes of milk during shortages — or skip milk altogether.
The shortage of cartons — which could also affect milk and juice served in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons — has forced officials across the country to think about backup plans.AP
It is not clear how long the shortage of cartons can last. In Everett, Washington, school officials told parents to expect disruptions in cafeteria milk supplies that could “range up to several months.”
Herrick said US milk processors are working with other package suppliers to resolve the shortage. He said he expected the problem to improve within a few weeks and be resolved by early next year.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
