East Londonderry UUP urges free milk events in schools

Speaking on behalf of the Association, the East Londonderry UUP Chairman Robert Carmichael said: “We in the UUP want to campaign for every primary school pupil between the ages of five and 11 to be entitled to up to 250 millilitres of Stormont subsidised milk in schools every day.

“The Stormont Agriculture Department needs to follow the example of past events in Britain, such as the National School Milk Week in England and Wales. During that week, 200 primary schools in England and Wales receive free milk for a day to encourage pupils to take advantage of its free or subsidised availability.

“We in the UUP also urge the Stormont Farming Minister to extend this excellent idea to Northern Ireland and use schools in East Londonderry as a pilot scheme. This would also help boost milk sales to a key target market, as well as help our constituency’s dairy farming sector.

“It is important that we encourage our constituency’s children to develop milk drinking habits early to combat potential problems like brittle bone disease in later life.

“Experts state that children who enjoy a carton of milk a day are receiving around 50 per cent of their recommended daily calcium intake as well as a number of essential vitamins that are crucial to their development.

“It is also vitally important that the constituents of East Londonderry enjoy the same benefits as those in the rest of the United Kingdom.

“We in the UUP are confident that a Stormont Farming Department pilot scheme in East Londonderry’s primary schools would be popular with both pupils and parents alike. Eventually, we hope that the milk scheme could also be included in the secondary sector schools as well as the colleges of further and higher education.

“Nothing is more important than the health of our constituency’s children and students and there is no healthier food than milk,” said Mr Carmichael.