Ensuring 2020 started with that all-important health kick, professional Rugby Sevens star and Love Island winner, Greg O’Shea, joined forces in February with one of Ireland’s top female boxers, Kellie Harrington, to support the second year of the ‘Everything starts with milk’ initiative. The initiative is a European Milk Forum (EMF) campaign focused on encouraging Irish consumers to drink more quality milk from Europe. Greg and Kellie announced their roles as ambassadors at an ‘Everything starts with milk’ training day that took place at University College Dublin, which saw one boxing club, one rugby team and one hockey team win the chance to train with O’Shea and Harrington, as well as several members of the Irish Women’s hockey team who were also in attendance.
Photo: Michael Chester
TASTE O Photo: Thomas Sunderland Photography
In March, the NDC published a new patient leaflet on Dairy and Cholesterol. The leaflet explains how the milk, yogurt and cheese food group can make a nutritious contribution as part of a balanced diet for those wishing to maintain healthy cholesterol levels. The publication has been endorsed by the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute and is available for health practitioners to share with their patients.
Pictured above: Tara Regan, EU & Schools Programme Manager, NDC; Maeve Lynch, Deputy Head, Food Division, DAFM and children from Ballon Rathoe Childcare Facility
A pilot of the EU School Milk Scheme took place in 12 Early Years Service settings in Carlow and Kilkenny in February and March 2020. Key objectives of the pilot were to cultivate and contribute to the development of healthy eating habits for pre-school children, to create a positive lasting impression of dairy produce and to encourage pre-school children to meet the recommended number of daily servings from the ‘milk, yogurt and cheese’ food group. An additional objective was to connect children to agriculture to develop a greater understanding of where their food comes from. Participating settings received milk each day during the pilot, a suite of educational resources designed specifically for the initiative and visits from a farmer and Milly the Cow. An evaluation of the pilot was carried out by the National Nutrition Surveillance Centre in UCD. The pilot was very well received by children, care-givers and parents who cited that the programme was beneficial to children, with some parents commenting that their children were now more likely to drink milk in place of other drinks.
8 The National Dairy Council | Annual Report 2020
