Evening star., 1941-05-22
ba|Iou Acts
To Get 1.Cent
Milk for D. {.
Surplus Marketing
Unit Asked to State
Action Necessary

a sSNSS w SASAS
Action Necessary
DR.. Frank w. Ballou, District
superintendent of schools, has writ
ten the Surplus Marketing Admins
tration, Agriculture Department, for
information about the steps the
Washington school system should
take to enjoy the new program
which makes available milk to
school children at l cent a half
pint, it was learned today
At the same time, study of the
operation of the Districts program
of inexpensive milk for persons
eligible for relief showed that slowly
increasing advantage is being taken
of it. Whereas only 1000 quarts a
day were sold when the program
was launched last August, now more
than 5000 quarts a day are being
dispensed.
If all the eligibles bought all the
loW-cost milk they are legally en-
titled to, $4,000 quarts a day would
be sold.
Diet Habits Stubborn.
Persons close to the program say
that diet habits formed over long
years by most of the eligibles ac-
count for the spread between actual
and potential purchases. Although
they can buy milk now at cents a
quart, most of the eligibles are slow
to respond to this opportunity to
obtain a food which is almost a
stranger to them. Education in the
value of milk is viewed as the key
to arouse the apathetic.
The Federal relief milk program
for Washington was placed in op-
Grafton last August II. From that
date through this February total
of 4l5,920 quarts of milk were dis
tributed to relief families here.
During February, the latest month
for which figures are available, 3,768
relief cases, representing about
1913 persons, purchased total OF
65,709 quarts.
New Orleans presents the same
need for diet education, although in
most cities where the program of
low-cost milk is operating, the po-
tential benefciaries take wide ad-
vantage of it. While the potential
relief milk sale in New Orleans is
$4,000 quarts day, only 1900
quarts are sold There also 1t is
said education to overcome the diet
habits of a lifetime and of many
lifetimes are required to arouse large
numbers of persons to benefit them
selves and their children by milk
drinking.
1-Cent Milk New Program.
The l-cent milk program for
school children is viewed as one
avenue of education. This is a new
program and for it Washington IS
eligible. The program was launched
on an experimental basis in Chicago
last fall and was put on a perma-
nent basis there January 20. Now
l55 schools in Chicago enjoy the
fruits of the program. In New York
City it is operative in about 400
schools taking 100000 children. In
some localities local welfare boards
or local sponsors buy the milk for
the children.
Establishment of the 1-cent pro-
gram here would displace the pres
ent school milk program operated by
the Board of Public Welfare. Under
the existing scheme, the board pur-
chases milk from distributor on
contract and makes it available to
children in schools in loW-income
areas. The 1-cent program probably
could be less expensive for the Dis
trict than the current program.
The Surplus Marketing Admins
tration of the Agriculture Depart
ment plans now to push this 1-cent
program forward so that as many
schools in as many cities as possible
will be ready with it for the opening
of the next school year, in Septem-
ber. The program has been ex-
tended to Baltimore, Birmingham,
Ala; Boston. st. Louis, Omaha and
Ogden, Utah. 1t is operative in
cities where a milk marketing agree
ment exists. Washington has had
an agreement for more than year
and the existing scent milk pro-
gram for relief eligibles is a fea-
ture of the agreement.
Like the scent milk program, the
1-cent school milk program would
be a venture requiring the CO.
operation of the Surplus Marketing
administration, the Board of Public
Welfare, the Maryland and Virginia
Milk Producers Association and a
Washington dairy.
Details of Operation.
The official announcement about
the introduction of the 1-cent pro-
gram to st. Louis sheds light on the
method of operation of the pro-
gram. The announcement said in
part:
The program will be operated In
st. Louis if bids to be made by
handlers desiring to supply milk to
the Board of Education are accepted
by the S. M. A.
Program operation would be
limited to nine schools which are
located in the loW-income areas.
Handlers whose bids are accepted
would receive l cent per half pint
from the Board of Education for
the milk they deliver in specified
quantities to the designated schools.
In addition, the handlers would
receive Federal payment, equal to
their accepted bids, for the milk they
deliver under the program. This
payment would be made from Fed
eral funds for the removal of agri-
cultural surpluSes.
Under the plan actual distribu-
ton of the milk to the children in
the designated schools would be
made free or at not more than /
pent nor n1occ oy,I ot to of