On September 29, Dairy Checkout Company and General Mills launched a classic breakfast combination on social media-cereal and milk to celebrate World Student Milk Day.

General Mills worked with the National Dairy Commission (NDC) and state and regional inspection teams across the country to celebrate the nutrition brought by a bowl of milk and grains. Encourage students, school food service directors and cafeteria staff to use #CerealMilk21 to post photos of their breakfast experience to their social media channels. The following is an example of sharing on Instagram Facebook.

This effort is provided to schools from kindergarten to high school nationwide. General Mills and NDC provided materials, including online versions, to help carry out the campaign. More than 1,500 kits were shipped to the school, including:

• Posters, promotional materials and interesting activity sheets

• TikTok dance duet video and Snapchat filter

• "Team Cereal Milk" event and poster

General Mills has held World Student Milk Day celebrations in the past two years, but this is the first time it has participated in dairy inspections, which has expanded its reach through its national network and school relations.

NDC and General Mills worked before September 29 to raise awareness and strengthen the nutritional aspects of the celebration. General Mills hosted a webinar for school food service professionals in July and August called "The Power of Dairy and Whole Grains: Getting Ready to Celebrate World Student Milk Day." The webinar included a presentation by NDC nutritionist Katie Bambacht, highlighting the nutritional benefits of dairy products and the key role of school meals in helping students consume the three recommended servings of dairy products each day.

Joining Bambacht is Monica Coulter, the company chef of General Mills, and Caroline Sluyter, the project director of the Oldways Whole Grains Council.

The combination of NDC and General Mills was very popular, with more than 450 school food service representatives participating. Lisa Hatch said that coupled with strong social media participation, the cooperation was a success. Hatch serves as the vice president of school channel sales and business development for Dairy Management Inc., the company responsible for managing national dairy inspections.

"Considering how busy the food service professionals are, we are very satisfied with the results," Hatch said. "It is not easy to attract an audience of so many important school leaders, but the credibility of the National Dairy Commission's cooperation with well-known and trusted brands such as General Mills is obviously very attractive.

“The social media aspect is very interesting for students, and it is great to see them experience the deliciousness and nutrition provided by every bowl of milk and cereal,” she added.

To learn more about dairy product inspections in your country and region, please visit www.USDairy.com or send a request to join our Dairy Checkoff Facebook group.

The author is the senior vice president of digital planning at Dairy Management Inc.