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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Students in all grades at Glenwood Junior High School voted on their favorite flavor of milk on Feb. 4 at the school's first milk taste testing event hosted by the new Fuel Up Play 60 club.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Students at Boardman Glenwood Junior High School voted for their favorite of three flavors of milk, including cotton candy, strawberry and cookies and cream, from Baker's Golden Dairy on Feb. 4.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Student members of Boardman's Fuel Up and Play 60 volunteered to fill taste tests of three different kinds of milk from Baker’s Golden Dairy in Columbiana.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Boardman hosted its first milk taste testing event, bringing samples of strawberry, cotton candy and cookies and cream milk to Glenwood Junior High School from Bakers Golden Dairy Feb. 4.
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Neighbors | Jessica Harker .Students at Boardman Glenwood Junior High School took turns during their lunch period trying and voting on three different flavors of milk Feb. 4.
By JESSICA HARKER
The new Fuel Up Play 60 Club at Boardman Glenwood Junior High School hosted the schools first Milk Taste Test event on Feb. 4.
“It’s basically a joint venture between the US Dairy Counsel and the NFL,” said gym teacher Danielle Sambida who started the group.
Kasey Hudson, from Bakers Golden Dairy farm, provided the milk for the event.
Hudson brought three unique flavors of milk for students to try, including strawberry, cotton candy and cookies and cream.
Students from each lunch period at BGJH tried each flavor, and voted on their favorite, with cookies and cream winning with 51 percent.
“We want to encourage healthy eating and more activity in kids,” Sambida said. “This is a good way to encourage kids to drink more milk.”
Bakers farm provided the milk at a discounted rate for the school, which was paid for by Sparkle on Western Reserve Road.
“We were really fortunate that Sparkle has donated all of the milk today,” Sambida said. “They sell their milk. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.”
Hudson said that Bakers Golden Dairy is the only on-farm bottling plant in Columbiana County.
The milk is non-homogenized, which means the cream rises to the top and the milk needs to be shook.
The farm has been run by Hudson’s family since 1999 and is currently owned by her parents, Deb and Kevin Baker.
“We run the business and we milk the cows,” Hudson said. “It’s a lot to take on.”
Along with being one of the only local dairy farms, Hudson said the business is one of the only sellers of a range of different flavors of milk.
“It kind started way back because my mom got sick on milk in elementary school, she was never able to drink milk again because the milk taste got to her,” Hudson said.
After the family started their own dairy business, and discovered the variety of flavors possible, they realized her mom could drink the different flavored milk.
“Now she will actually drink the other flavors,” Hudson said. “We thought, ‘well if she can, what about other people who have the same thing or just don’t like plain milk?’”
Now the company has five different flavors of milk per week, even working with local businesses like High Octane Coffee to create flavors like vanilla latte.
“We love to bring different kinds of things here that student may not have the ability to try at home,” Sambida said.
Along with bringing Bakers Golden Dairy products to school, the group works to promote healthy living in students.
Sambida said the group provides open gym time for students, and meets during the day to plan more events like this.
“It’s all about education, about staying healthy and being active and different ways to bring that to the school day,” Sambida said.
The Fuel Up and Play 60 group at Boardman also entered the organizations national video competition, and was one of six schools to receive the first place prize, a visit from an NFL player.
The visit will be scheduled for later this year, according to Sambida. “It’s a memory that they will always have,” she said.