SYRACUSE, N.Y. – From cheese-topped breakfast sandwiches to yogurt parfaits, plus a serving of milk, New Jersey students are able to start their day with a healthy breakfast packed with dairy thanks to GENYOUth’s End Student Hunger Fund in partnership with local dairy farmers and American Dairy Association North East.
During National School Breakfast Week earlier in March, dairy farmer Graham Ackerly from Mount Vernon, N.J., teamed up with ADA North East, New York Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton, and officials from GENYOUth and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help tackle food insecurity for students at the Newark School of Global Studies in Newark, N.J.
Together the group unveiled critical new equipment to provide the students with greater access to school meals that include dairy. The equipment included a grab and go breakfast cart, a milk cooler and cooler bags that were provided by funding from national communications organization PRWeek through GENYOUth’s End Student Hunger Fund.
“As a dairy farmer, I am thrilled to see Newark’s priority in fueling students each and every day with a balanced and healthy breakfast that includes dairy,” said Ackerly.
GENYOUth is dairy checkoff’s national youth wellness nonprofit organization that draws funding from large corporations outside of the dairy industry. Fuel Up to Play 60, the flagship program of GENYOUth, was created by National Dairy Council and the National Football League and opens the door for ADA North East to implement school meal strategies that increase dairy sales – like the breakfast cart program.
ADA North East works with GENYOUth and the seven NFL teams in our region to identify Fuel Up to Play 60 schools that are in need of equipment to better serve their students.
Since 2017, GENYOUth’s grab and go breakfast cart program has combatted food insecurity within schools through the donation of more than 500 meal carts in American public schools, which have helped to increase average daily participation by as much as 27 percent, and to expand access to 50 million school meal opportunities.
For more information about breakfast programs visit AmericanDairy.com, or contact ADA North East at 315.472.9143.
About American Dairy Association North East
American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) is the dairy farmer-funded organization funded by participating dairy farmer’s checkoff investment to build demand and sales for milk and dairy foods throughout the local region. Representing nearly 10,000 dairy farm families in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, ADA North East develops and implements local programs to drive milk and dairy sales at retail outlets and in schools. The organization also conducts consumer education about dairy through events, traditional and social media, and in collaboration with health professionals through National Dairy Council®. ADA North East works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™, the national dairy checkoff organization, to support nutrition research, national partnerships and developing export markets for dairy to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the region. For more information, visit www.AmericanDairy.com, or call 315.472.9143.
