Storrs Dairy Farm Tackling Tricky Back To School Milk Market

STORRS, CT — The movement to make school meal menus fresher and fresher doesn't stop with the main course. A classic drink — Milk — is also involved and that features one eastern Connecticut farm producing it from cows just a few miles from the classrooms and cafeterias.

"We've been doing it on and off for years, but have become more heavily involved with schools recently," said Stacey Stearns, a 10th-generation dairy farmer and the grants and special projects manager for Mountain Dairy in Storrs.

Stearns said the was a strong dip in school system business during the coronavirus pandemic, when many students took virtual classes at home at worse and, at best, school was in session with abbreviated schedules.

Plus, she says, it is traditionally a volatile market.

"The industry was hard hit by the pandemic," she said. "Schools have always been more challenging anyway because of the imbalance between summer and when classes are in session, but we've been able to add more schools."

Stearns said Mountain Dairy serves both K through 12 school systems and colleges. The milk for the institutions is distributed in large bags that are hooked up to metallic "cows" in dining halls. Rather than pulling on certain bovine body parts to access milk, levers are pulled or lifted, she said.

Mountain Dairy's current clientele includes schools in Mansfield, the University of Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut State University, Yale University, the University of Massachusetts and Connecticut College. The farm has also worked with the Vernon school system.

The farm boasts about 500 cows these days.

One tricky part of the equation when dealing with schools is the sugar content mandated by the federal government. It dictates that no more than 10 grams of added sugar show up in an 8-ounce glass of milk.

"The regular milk will always be OK," Stearns said. "But we have pretty tough standards, so we're alright even with the flavored milks. We have a special formulization that has a little less sugar but maintains flavor."

For one, "What we're feeding cows matters," Stearns said. "We also still use steam pasteurization and the cows are getting milked in the morning and the milk is heading to the processing plant almost immediately. It may be sitting one day, but it is really fresh."

ON the retail end, Mountain Dairy milk can be found in several supermarkets and convenience stores in the area. Click here for a list. There is also home delivery.

See more on the farm here.