The Dairy Alliance, a nonprofit funded by dairy farm families in the Southeast, recently celebrated the installation of Georgia's first middle school milk dispenser at Red Top Middle School in Bartow County. This milestone represents a significant expansion of a statewide program that now includes seven school districts and 18 schools across Georgia, with 30 milk dispensers installed to date.
The initiative is 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. Bartow County has emerged as a leader in this effort, becoming the first Georgia district with multiple schools participating and planning to install dispensers across all middle and high schools, totaling seven schools.
"Milk dispensers are a great way to upgrade real dairy milk for this generation of students," said Will McWhirter, Manager of Youth Wellness at The Dairy Alliance. "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."
School nutrition officials emphasize the program's benefits for student health and nutrition. "I'm proud of our school nutrition team at Red Top Middle School for wanting to be a part of this innovative project," said Betsy Roam, School Nutrition Director of Bartow County. "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."
The program represents a significant development for Georgia's dairy industry, creating stronger connections between schools and local farmers. "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," said Bryce Trotter, Executive Director of Georgia Milk Producers, Inc. This initiative benefits students while strengthening connections to local dairy farmers.
For dairy farmers like Ted Trotter, who has worked on dairies for 40 years, the program represents the culmination of long-term efforts to improve milk quality in schools. "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," he said. "In the past, many said it would never work, but the ones who tried it really love it. I'm just glad to see it's finally coming to fruition."
The participating school districts include Cartersville City, Marietta City, Bartow County, Polk County, Calhoun City, Bremen City, and KIPP Charter Schools of Atlanta. The Dairy Alliance continues to work with school districts and dairy partners across the Southeast to expand access to milk dispensers and strengthen connections between students and local dairy farm families. More information about The Dairy Alliance is available at https://thedairyalliance.com.
