Amid rising food costs, the government will cover a planned price increase in the School Milk Program to ensure milk stays affordable for families when students return to classrooms in September.
“The rising cost of food is a real challenge for many Nova Scotia families,” said Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow. “We know that our dairy producers and processors are seeing their costs rise, too. By covering the cost of the planned increase, we’re able to support the industry while giving parents one less thing to worry about when the school year starts again.”
The Natural Products Marketing Council, a sector-led adjudicative board, sets the price of school milk. There was a price increase scheduled for September 1, but the government has agreed to cover that cost so families don’t have to. That means the price of a 250-millilitre carton of milk at school will remain at 40 cents.
The cost of covering this increase is estimated to be about $72,000. This is in addition to current costs, which have ranged between $130,000 and $230,000 per full school year. These costs were lower during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years due to pandemic-related school closures.
The School Milk Program is cost shared between the Department of Agriculture and dairy producers and processors. Since 1974, the program has provided milk at a reduced price to students in grades primary to 12 at participating public schools.
Source : Novascotia.ca