Planting Seeds - Food & Farming News from CDFA

Secretary Ross joins elementary school students to experience Mobile Dairy Classroom

Secretary Ross (center) with students at Pacific Elementary School, principal Dr. Shana Henry (left), Sarah Hanson of CDFA's Farm to Fork Office (far left), Tammy- Anderson Wise, CEO of the Dairy Council of California (right), instructor Kimberlee Youman (kneeling) and Tootsie the calf.

Secretary Ross (center) with students at Pacific Elementary School, principal Dr. Shana Henry (left), Sarah Hanson of CDFA’s Farm to Fork Office (far left), Tammy-Anderson Wise, CEO of the Dairy Council of California (right), instructor Kimberlee Youman (kneeling) and Tootsie the calf.

Earlier this month, CDFA Secretary Karen Ross joined students at Sacramento’s Pacific Elementary School for a visit from the Mobile Dairy Classroom, where an instructor shared fun facts like: cows have built-in fly swatters, and milk is warm when it comes out of the udder.

As the original farm to school program in California, Mobile Dairy Classroom has brought a bit of the dairy farm to schools across the state since the 1930s. To help children better appreciate where their milk and milk products come from, the free assemblies provided by the Dairy Council of California teach children about agriculture and cows, healthy eating from all five food groups, and how to lead healthy, active lifestyles.  Mobile Dairy Classroom assemblies augment the Dairy Council of California’s classroom nutrition education lessons that are also free to schools as part of the dairy industry’s commitment to community health.

With six Mobile Dairy Classroom units across California, 400,000 students each year have the chance to make a personal connection with a cow and a calf, and better understand where their milk comes from. Furthermore, the assemblies allow for a better appreciation for the role of the dairy farmer and milk processor in providing healthy food and why milk and milk products are an essential part of an overall balanced diet with foods from all five food groups.

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