Fresh, unlimited dairy

LEWISTON, Minn. — North from Lewiston among the rolling corn fields stands Immanuel Lutheran School-Silo. There, 100 elementary and middle school students are now enjoying fresh, cold, unlimited milk from a bulk milk dispenser thanks to an Undeniably Dairy Grant.

Each day, the school uses about 10 gallons of chocolate and white milk for its staff and student body.

Kevin Meyer is the principal.

“The milk tastes so much better for the kids,” he said. “I’ve always drunk carton milk as well, but I always took a sniff test before that first swallow. … It’s just so much more enjoyable (now) to drink.”

Dairy farm community members Emily Tweten and Kristi Tveten are both connected to the school and collaborated to help get the grant. Tweten’s children attend the school as does one of Tveten’s grandchildren.

The Twetens milk 800 cows near Lewiston.

Tveten is the preschool aide at the school. The Tvetens retired from dairy farming after 47 years in August.

Before switching to the bulk milk dispensers, the school used cartons.

“We discovered that most kids didn’t like the taste of milk out of cartons,” Tveten said. “I’m of the belief that if you don’t teach a child to drink milk when they’re young, they tend to not carry the habit on. So, we wanted to bring in good, fresh milk, and have all they could possibly drink available.”

After research, the pair found out that as dairy farmers they could apply for a grant through Midwest Dairy. Tweten said a challenge they faced was the small size of the school, since these grants are meant to impact as many as possible. To expand their impact, they have plans beyond the daily meal program to use the dispenser at sports tournaments and larger events to push more milk into the community.

In preparation for the project, Tveten, Tweten and the head of the school lunch program, Teresa Fortsch, visited Goodhue Public Schools which had installed bulk milk dispensers.

“(We) wanted to really study and understand the challenges of a new bulk milk machine in a school,” Tweten said. “(They) let us know all of the ins and outs and what to do and what not to do.”

The group had begun discussing getting a bulk milk dispenser several years ago. However, concerns over labor changes, keeping the machine clean and more, slowed the process by one year for the school to get a machine.

The school began using their bulk milk dispenser early in the 2023 school year. The grant covered the majority of the project expenses, with the school covering the rest.

Fortsch said it took time to get used to the new set up.

“It was a little rough at the first couple weeks, but once I got into a routine and figured out the best way to fill it, it’s pretty smooth,” Fortsch said.

The school allows students to come back for refills.

“First and foremost, it’s way better than anything else they’re probably going to drink,” Meyer said. “It really isn’t costing us that much more to allow them to be able to drink (what they want).”

The milk costs the same amount for 80 servings now as it did for 50 servings before.

“Being in a farming community, we have a lot of kids who drink milk and would like to drink more,” Meyer said.

The dispenser has cut down on waste. The school throws away about half the amount of milk as before.

“We had a fair amount of waste milk that was always getting dumped out of cartons at the end of the lunches,” Meyer said. “Everybody was required to take a milk, but again, because it didn’t taste the best, they didn’t drink it. … Through this we have virtually very little waste milk, and they’re taking how much they want, and … a lot of them are going back for seconds.”

The school is not Tweten and Tveten’s only project to get milk into the hands of consumers. The two dairy farmers started a nonprofit called One Gallon at a Time. Through their nonprofit they give dairy products to those in need.

Their nonprofit grew out of them donating 55 gallons of milk and 15 half gallons of milk to Food for Families once a month. During the COVID pandemic, the need for their milk dropped off because the organization was getting extra funds.

Today, their nonprofit focuses on providing Kwik Trip dairy gift cards to food shelves to distribute.

Another bulk milk dispenser project the pair completed was getting a bulk milk machine into The Crossings Center in Lewiston. The space has regular events for youth and families, which Tweten said are well attended.

“(The dispenser) really gets used a lot,” she said.

Back at the school, One Gallon at a Time is also helping the students give. Last year, at a food drive, they promised the kids their non-profit would match the food donations the children collected with dairy donations for double the impact.

Whether donating to the community for Tweten and Tveten or bringing fresh dairy into his school for Meyer, milk’s nutrition is important to the group.

“Milk has everything every kid needs,” Tveten said. “The nutrient value in milk is huge, and we know for sure they get it twice a day (through the school’s meal program).”

Meyer agreed.

“In today’s world we see a lot of different substitutes for milk, but most of those substitutes are adding a lot of things milk already has,” he said. “It provides the kids with what they need, the nutrients they need, the vitamins, minerals that they need.”