For over a century, Dairy Council of California has elevated the health of children and families in California and beyond through the pursuit of lifelong healthy eating habits. Read, view or download the 2020–2021 Annual Report below.

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On behalf of the entire staff and board of directors, it is my honor to present the Dairy Council of California 2020–2021 Annual Report—our accomplishments, challenges and decisive steps toward elevating the health of children and families through the pursuit of lifelong healthy eating habits, where milk and dairy foods are positioned as a cornerstone. Serving as the dairy industry’s contribution to community health, Dairy Council of CA provides balanced nutrition education programs and strategic initiatives to advance the health benefits of milk and dairy foods.

We proudly supported the dairy industry with nutrition science expertise and partnered on strategies such as expanding access to milk in schools, creating assets for new ag literacy exhibits and co-hosting the California Dairy Sustainability Summit. We continually assessed industry needs and looked for opportunities to provide greater support and increase dairy visibility.

One of our long-standing strategies has been issues management and communications informed by trends, which enables us to share potential impacts to the dairy industry and shapes our work plan. Our teams focused on what is impactful, amplifying information to the dairy industry and translating, where appropriate, to our partners and customers.

The pandemic catapulted us into the future as we worked to help children and families access food and milk. All children deserve access to healthy foods, and we were proud to see California become the first state to make school meals free for all students to help ensure they are able to access and consume high-quality foods like milk and dairy foods.

We believe Dairy Council of CA is a community health cause. We are passionate about milk and dairy’s role in health, our industry’s commitment to nutrition education, and the well-being of dairy farm families and milk processors in California. We look forward to celebrating small wins, big successes and many more years of dedicated service. Together, we can elevate milk and dairy foods’ vital role in achieving equitable and sustainable nutrition security, as well as ensure milk and dairy are valued as part of the solution to supporting healthier people, fueling local economies and fostering a healthier planet. Thank you again for your support.

Healthy regards,

Tammy Anderson-Wise
CEO, Dairy Council of California

From July 2020 to June 2021, Dairy Council of CA collaborated with influential health, education and foodservice professionals to educate children and families on the role of milk and dairy foods in healthy daily eating patterns and empower healthier communities.

Despite the continued impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Dairy Council of CA continued to innovate, educating and elevating the health of children and families through nutrition on behalf of California’s dairy community.

• 4.4 million California children and families educated through its nutrition curriculum and resources.
• 10,878 California school and community partners teaching its nutrition education programs and resources
• 5,642 school, community and health and wellness professionals trained
• 361 staff-led exhibits, events, trainings and technical advising advanced nutrition and dairy’s role in healthy daily eating patterns
• 28 nutrition guidelines and policies educated and informed

Your Money at Work

With the goal of stewarding the dairy community’s funds responsibly and efficiently, Dairy Council of CA focused on initiatives that provided the greatest return on investment, impacting the health of children and families while elevating the value of consuming milk and dairy foods.

California dairy farm families and milk processors contribute to community health through Dairy Council of CA and its strong, longstanding foundation in schools, communities and beyond. Dairy Council of CA’s Let’s Eat Healthy nutrition curriculum and resources teach a wide range of relevant skills to enable students to make informed food choices, establish healthy eating habits, and value physical activity.

Educating More People More Ways

Even with school closures and the shift to remote education models, Dairy Council of CA remained highly effective, engaging and educating 4.4 million California students and families with its nutrition resources during the 2020–2021 school year. Closures forced entire school communities to look for new ways to help students and keep community health positive, providing the organization with the opportunity to lead 119 professional development trainings, empowering and equipping educators and health professionals to champion nutrition education.

The pandemic also increased the need for resources that address the whole child, paving the way for nutrition education to support students beyond developmental and physical health to also include social and emotional health. Its nutrition resources include embedded social and emotional learning (SEL) strategies, making them more relevant than ever. By leading professional development trainings, Dairy Council of CA staff leveraged demand for SEL and positioned nutrition education—and dairy—to support healthier students, schools and communities.

Equipping School Foodservice with Nutrition Education

Dairy Council of CA collaborated with regional, statewide and national partners to lead 18 webinars and trainings to educate over 1,000 school foodservice professionals, providing insights, resources and continuing education credits to help increase nutrition knowledge and value for nutrient rich foods like dairy foods to improve community health. The webinars and trainings were focused around challenges schools currently faced, including:

• How to apply for federal grants to help source food boxes and funding to feed their communities
• Best practices and strategies, including mental wellness topics, to support staff and students
• Tips, resources and strategies to engage, educate and improve the health of students and families
• Nutrition resources to support educators, school foodservice, children and families

The organization continued to lead and support collaboratives that advanced nutrition programs, including the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement (SLM) of California. Survey results collected at the end of the year showed that despite the many challenges, 78% of SLM technical advising professionals were actively engaged in activities that supported school foodservice during the pandemic. In addition to professional development training, actions included distributing Let’s Eat Healthy cafeteria kits, utilizing Let’s Eat Healthy nutrition resources like the Milk + Dairy tip sheet and encouraging family participation in meal distribution.

SLM is a valued collaboration between Dairy Council of CA, CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California, California Department of Education and California Department of Public Health at both the state and regional levels. Co-chaired by Dairy Council of CA and CalFresh Healthy Living, this last year was spent evaluating results and developing plans that address the changing school environment while also increasing the value for partnerships among school districts and community partners to support SLM and school nutrition programs.

Mobile Dairy Classroom Teaches Students Ag Literacy

One of Dairy Council of California’s flagship programs and the original Farm-to-School program, Mobile Dairy Classroom (MDC) gives children a chance to experience agriculture up close, teaching students food literacy through experiential learning to help them connect with food and the journey it takes to the cafeteria. Assemblies feature a variety of topics, including the role of milk and dairy foods in supporting good health, cow care on the farm, the milking process and agricultural technology.

In the 2020–2021 school year, MDC continued its innovative virtual field trip program, combining the traditional experience with a virtual farm tour. MDC instructors livestreamed from the farm, giving students an interactive field trip experience where they were able to ask questions and virtually engage with animals. This format enabled Dairy Council of CA to educate and engage 226,183 students, families and classrooms, including 394 new elementary schools typically “out of zone” due to their remote location and 15 high schools. MDC virtual field trips were taught in 20 U.S. states and 15 countries and were well-received, with an average 4.7 out of 5 star rating, emphasizing value to students and educators.

MDC assemblies and virtual field trips complement a robust portfolio of nutrition resources, including grade-specific nutrition education workbooks, short nutrition builders, online games and resources, and SLM strategies. Available in English and Spanish, the virtual field trips are paired with classroom lessons to teach students how to build healthy eating behaviors from all food groups. MDC helps students connect the foods they eat to dairy foods produced on farms, enabling them to make a powerful, lasting food literacy connection.

The Dairy Community’s Support of Ag Literacy

Mobile Dairy Classroom would not be possible without the support of the California dairy community. Thank you to the following dairies and dairy farmers for their support:

• Batista Family Farm
• Cal-Denier Dairy
• Centennial Farm, OC Fairgrounds
• Darby Heffner, California State University, Chico Dairy
  
• Delta View Farms
• Jennifer Beretta, Beretta Dairy
• Maureen Lemos, Lockwood III Dairy
• Tyler Ribeiro, Rib-Arrow Dairy

Members of the dairy community are always invited to attend a Mobile Dairy Classroom assembly, virtual farm tour or agricultural event hosted by Dairy Council of CA. Contact Kendall House, khouse@dairycouncilofca.org, to learn about upcoming assemblies, events or ways to support the virtual farm tour program.

All children and families deserve access to healthy, nutritious foods like milk and dairy foods. This belief fuels Dairy Council of CA’s commitment to supporting food access programs, policies and collaboratives designed to help children and families—especially those living in marginalized and underserved communities—access the nutritious, wholesome foods they need to be nourished and healthy.

Why Supporting School Meals Matters

It is estimated that 13 million U.S. children—or 1 in 6—have limited or uncertain access to enough food to support a healthy life. The pandemic exacerbated food insecurity, with experts projecting the number to be even higher at 17 million, including more than 2.2 million children right here in California.

School meals are an important food access point for many children. Not only do schools provide food to children, but new research shows that children consume their healthiest meals at school. The closure of schools to in-person learning during the first year of the pandemic severely impacted school communities, with school foodservice forced to switch to drive-thru service using existing resources, and parents and caregivers scrambled to feed the children in their care. 

Despite adjustments, nationally, schools served 2.2 billion fewer meals than the previous year. This drop in meal service was due in large part to lack of access to pickup sites and fear surrounding pickup service. This drop is disappointing when considering the many studies that demonstrate how school meal programs—which include milk and dairy foods as a key component— play an important role in supporting obesity prevention, overall student health and academic achievement by improving children’s nutrition intakes and combating hunger. 

Kids Still Need Milk

Throughout the year, Dairy Council of CA worked with schools and partners to help ensure milk and dairy foods remained a valued and irreplaceable part of school meal service.

Amplifying Milk and Dairy Foods for Health

Milk and dairy foods are part of the solution to empowering healthier children, families and communities, and by teaming with schools and community partners throughout the state, Dairy Council of CA was able to elevate the important role of milk and dairy foods as part of daily eating patterns.

World School Milk Day in September

The academic year kicked off with school partnerships across the state to celebrate World School Milk Day, a day that brings schools and organizations around the world together to celebrate the health benefits of school milk programs and the vital role they play in nourishing children. In partnership with San Luis Coastal Unified School District, a virtual contest was hosted to educate and engage more than 2,700 families in the region. At Juniper Elementary School in Hesperia, staff worked with school foodservice to host a Milk Carton Contest, with students creatively upcycling their used milk cartons to show how milk supports health and is a sustainable food. 

The Healthy Eating TABLE Released in March

Dairy Council of CA closely followed and shared research summaries in support of dairy foods in daily eating patterns leading up to the release of the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The updated recommendations supported the focus on elevating the importance of nutrition across the lifespan, which culminated with the release of The Healthy Eating TABLE, a scientific review that translates, amplifies and bridges the latest evidence in nutrition and dairy science, during National Nutrition Month^®.

Dairy foods like milk, yogurt and cheese are nutritious, high-quality foods that contribute positive health outcomes, and The Healthy Eating TABLE provides credible, evidence-based research findings, enabling Dairy Council of CA to educate, inform and create dialogue with educators, health professionals, dairy partners, influencers and thought leaders around timely and relevant issues, as well as invite them to join in finding ways to elevate and support the health of people through nutrition. The ideas and relationships forged through these types of communications and outreach efforts help create momentum that enables change, spawning the launch of multisector collaborative efforts such as the Let’s Eat Healthy movement and the Well-Nourished, Brighter Futures initiative, which aim to foster solutions that support healthier children and ensure milk and dairy foods continue to be supported and valued as a solution to health.

June Is Dairy Month

The school year ended in a partnership with California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom to spotlight milk and dairy foods in June as part of Taste and Teach, an agricultural partnership with K–12 teachers. This partnership supported 346 California educators who engaged over 10,000 students, as well as social media promotions to elevate dairy foods and keep them top of mind.

Advocacy amplifies Dairy Council of CA’s efforts to elevate the value of dairy foods in healthy dietary patterns, favorably positioning milk and dairy foods as part of the solution to improving the health of children and families. Proactively educating, equipping and empowering local leaders, policymakers, gatekeepers and the dairy community with important science-based, relevant and actionable information ensures milk and dairy foods are valued as a solution to optimal health and remains a recommended part of daily healthy food choices. 

Its staff of nutrition, education and communications experts regularly seek out partnerships with gatekeepers and organizations that directly engage children and families. In 2020–2021, collaborations with 223 local, regional, national and international organizations and committees prioritized children’s health through nutrition. Working closely with 36 partnering organizations, 67 new resources and opportunities were created, helping to advance its cause through its partners. 

Building Dairy Advocates for the Future

Dairy Council of CA’s proprietary Trends monitoring system collects, analyzes and communicates current nutrition research and trends so that nutrition, policy and systems, health, education, consumer behavior, and other topics are elevated, made relevant and actionable to different stakeholder audiences. 

The resulting Trends Fall 2020 and Trends Spring 2021 equipped health professionals, educators and the dairy community with credible information and research on the latest in nutrition science for trending issues, enabling the organization to influence, inform and spark dialogue on the health of children, families and communities. Insights were repackaged and presented at a variety of events such as health conferences, speaking engagements, meetings and community events, creating opportunities to advocate for dairy as part of the solution to optimal health.

In 2020–2021, Dairy Council of CA prioritized where and how to share research findings to garner higher impacts while continuing to increase the number of exhibits and engagements from 70 last year to 361 this year.  A diverse, multisector group of influencers and stakeholders were targeted, with staff speaking at key events including: 

• The International Dairy Federation’s webinar on World School Milk Day
• The California Dairy Sustainability Summit (keynote presentations)
  
• The National Child and Adult Care Food Program conference 
  
• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and American School Health Association (featured presentations and poster sessions) 
  
• California wellness summits (featured presentations) 
• Statewide and regional collaborative meetings 
  

The pandemic drove need for cross-sector collaboration to solve many challenges faced by children and communities, including nutrition education and access to nutritious foods like milk and dairy foods. Dairy Council of CA helped improve student and family knowledge and health while increasing the value for nutrition education by creating 10,878 new Let’s Eat Healthy champions, educators who believe milk and dairy foods are a valued part of daily eating patterns.

Let’s Eat Healthy Leadership Award Winners