Fall 2002
Reaching Consumers through the Medical/Health Media
u Get Creative: Invite your child's friends over for a "Mix it With Milk" party. Provide them with a variety of flavored syrups, fruit and milk and let them create their own flavors.
For more ideas or recipes, go to www.whymilk.com. For more information on children's bone health, visit www.nationaldairycouncil.org and check out the Calcium Crisis segment from the American Academy of Pediatrics' Kids HealthWorks series and take the National Dairy Council's childhood nutrition quiz.
GIRLS ON THE RUN
MIX IT WITH MILK
Spreading the word about the Mix It With Milk 'n Motts® contest was the goal of the Kids Kaleidoscope event on June 1st at Crossroads Village in Flint. It was a huge success with over 4000 parents and kids in attendance. UDIM staff and volunteers distributed contest information and nutrition education materials along with chocolate milk, customized shakers, and single-serve containers of Mott's® applesauce.
Creating new flavors of milk to get kids excited about drinking milk is the goal of the Mix It With Milk 'n Motts® contest. The search is on for the most inventive milk recipe and invites kids age 6-12 to create it by using Mott's® Applesauce or Fruitsations® and other ingredients. One grand-prize winner will win a $5,000 college scholarship, a family trip for four to the Big Apple (New York City) and a year's supply of Mott's® Fruitsations®. Three runners-up will each win a $1,000 savings bond and a year's supply of Mott's® Fruitsations®. The website www.whymilk.com (under Kids Club icon) has complete contest entry information and rules.
Kids Explore the World of Dairy at the Great Dairy Adventure
The Pavilion on the Campus of Michigan State University was transformed into a dairy safari on July 17 during the fourth annual Great Dairy Adventure. Packed with fun and information, the Great Dairy Adventure leads kids and their caregivers through a jungle of exciting and educational hands-on exhibits and activities. More than 1500 people attended this year's fun-filled event.
Kids of all ages explored the wild world of dairy while they joined in on fun activities that were set-up around hundreds of cows and calves. Visitors had the opportunity to pet a calf, milk a cow, color a dairy safari picture and make craft projects. The ever-popular milk mustache photos were back again this year and flavored milks, yogurt, ice cream treats and other giveaways rounded out the day.
UDIM promoted the Mix It With Milk 'n Mott's® contest that encourages kids ages 6-12 to experiment with creating new flavors of milk. Everyone attending had the opportunity to sample "Apple Pie in a Glass" milk and received their very own milk shaker cup to try other recipes at home. UDIM also held a drawing for a gift basket filled with all of the necessary items to host a Mix It With Milk 'n Mott's® party.
Cheese Bites
Michigan Celebrates a Passion for Cheese
In February, American Dairy Association and United Dairy Industry of Michigan conducted a nationwide search for America's Greatest Cheese Lover. The contest required entrants to submit an original recipe and a short essay stating how cheese has brought romance into their lives. The contest was a success and generated more than 36 million media impressions nationwide. The grand prize winning recipe was “Cheese Lover’s Passionate Pear-ing,” submitted by Susan Tingley from Portland, Oregon. This south-of-the-border treat is made with cheddar and zesty Monterey Jack melted over fresh apples and pears and topped with spicy pepper jelly and sweet brown sugar.
From Acme to Zilwaukee, recipes showcased Michigan's passion for all-things cheese. Entrants from Michigan featured a variety of cheeses in their recipes, with cheddar being the most popular.
Iron River's own Ann Cervenka, was selected as one of Michigan's favorite cheese lovers for her “Easy Cheesy Stuffing” recipe made with stuffed olives, cheddar and mozzarella. In her entry, Ann wrote, “The first dinner I ever cooked for my husband had cheese soup as the first course. It was lumpy and awful. The next day I got flowers at work with a card that read, Thanks for a memorable meal.”
Barbara Walker from Bay City was also selected as a Michigan favorite. Her “Grant’s Cheesy Potatoes” recipe is a favorite in her home. “When I prepare home-cooked meals with cheese, my family knows they are loved.” Barbara says her passion for cheese began when she started purchasing her own groceries at age 18.
As Michigan’s Favorite Cheese Lovers, Ann and Barbara won a gift basket filled with a variety of cheeses, The Cheese Lover’s Cookbook and Guide, a cheese pairing guide and all of the utensils a true cheese lover possesses.
For copies of these winning recipes, visit www.udim.org or contact Jessica Thompson at the UDIM office at 1-800-241-MILK.
Sign Up for The Cheese Chatter
Imagine your very own cheese expert giving you the scoop about the latest trends in cheese. Or a famous chef in your kitchen letting you get a sneak peak of a new recipe she’s trying out. Or a grocer who offers you discounts regularly. That’s pretty much what The Cheese Chatter is—your inside guide to all the savings, servings and styles of cheese.
Chock-full of exclusive cheese news, recipes and savings, The Cheese Chatter is our free monthly e-newsletter made for the most intense cheese lovers out there. If that’s you, sign up today at
www.ilovecheese.com!
Michigan Dairy Promotion Highlights
u Everyone knows that kids need to start their day with a nutritious breakfast.
The relationship between eating breakfast and improved school performance is well established. Now more than ever, school days are so busy that many kids don't have time for breakfast before school. UDIM awarded grants to nine schools to assist in implementation of new breakfast options. If kids don't have time to eat at home or go to the cafeteria, breakfast will come to them.
“Alternate breakfast service” methods can increase breakfast participation. Options include Breakfast in the Classroom, Breakfast After 1st Period and Grab'n'Go Breakfast. Students eat at their desks while doing routine morning activities such as taking attendance and listening to announcements. Since milk is one of the components required for USDA reimbursement, increased breakfast participation naturally increases demand for dairy products.
Michigan schools receiving grants to expand their breakfast program include: Koepsell Education Center in St. Clair Shores, Arbor Elementary School in Roseville, Dean A. Naldrett School in New Baltimore, Jefferson Elementary and Pearl Lean School in Warren, Laker Junior High in Pigeon, Hamady and Westwood Elementaries in Flint and Montague High School in Montague.
u Six Michigan Schools Selected to Receive Grants will each be receiving $3,000 during the 2002-2003 school year to improve their nutrition environment. United Dairy Industry of Michigan is funding the grants through Michigan Team Nutrition. UDIM and Team Nutrition staff, will make site visits to schools to assist in assessing the current status of their nutrition environment. The assessment results will determine what activities will be developed and implemented in this yearlong process. Based on DMI's national plan, USDA's Changing The Scene kit will be utilized throughout these projects.
Approximately 1,700 application forms were mailed to School Foodservice Directors and Team Nutrition School Team Leaders. Grant recipients were chosen in a random-type selection process. The six schools are: Grand Rapids Public Schools, Creston High School; Manchester Community Schools, Ackerson Middle School; Pontiac School District, Longfellow Elementary; Kingsley Area Schools, Kingsley Middle School; Archdiocese of Kalamazoo, St. Basil Catholic School; and Rapid River Public Schools, Tri-Township School.
African American Women and Osteoporosis
MYTH: African American women don’t need to worry about osteoporosis.
FACT: Although osteoporosis is less prevalent among African American women than women of other racial/ethnic groups (e.g., Asians, Hispanics, Caucasians), a substantial percentage of African American women are at risk for this disease. According to recent findings from the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment (NORA) study, 32% of African American women had low bone mass (a predictor of fracture risk) and 4% had osteoporosis.
NORA is a longitudinal observational study of over 200,000 postmenopausal women aged 50 years and over with no previous diagnosis of osteoporosis. Participants’ bone mineral density was obtained using x-ray scans of the forearm, finger, or heal. Although most of the participants were Caucasians, this study is by far the largest investigation of osteoporosis among racial/ethnic minority women in the U.S. An unexpected finding was the large percentage of postmenopausal women with undiagnosed osteoporosis. Nearly 40% of all the women tested had low bone mass and an additional 7% had osteoporosis.
Unfortunately, few women in the U.S. consume recommended intakes of milk/dairy foods and calcium. African Americans’ low dairy food and calcium intake is blamed in part on their relatively high incidence of lactose maldigestion. However, studies indicate that African Americans and others with lactose maldigestion can comfortably consume a dairy-rich diet that meets calcium recommendations by using a few simple dietary strategies. These include drinking a glass of milk with a meal and consuming yogurt with “live, active cultures” and aged cheeses.
Given African Americans’ substantial risk for osteoporosis and their disproportionately high risk for other calcium deficiency-related diseases such as hypertension, stroke, and colon cancer, it is particularly important that they consume at least three servings a day of calcium-rich foods such as milk and other dairy products.
