SCHUMER: USDA TO BEGIN SECOND ROUND OF SOLICITING PROPOSALS FROM GREEK YOGURT MAKERS FOR 12-STATE USDA GREEK YOGURT PILOT PROGRAM – NY GREEK YOGURT PRODUCERS CAN APPLY STARTING AUGUST 7TH
Schumer Successfully Urged USDA To Institute – and then Expand – Successful Greek Yogurt Pilot Program; Pilot Program Now Available in Schools in Twelve States, From September 2014 to June 2015 – NY, AZ, ID, TN, CA, IA, CT, IL, NC, VT, WA, MS
NY’s Own Chobani & Upstate Niagara – Winners of First Solicitation – Were Selected Last Month to Provide Greek Yogurt to Schools in 7 States for One Month
Greek Yogurt Vendor(s) Will Be Selected Through Application Process That Will Begin On August 7th; Schumer Urges NY Greek Yogurt Makers To Apply
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is scheduled to begin soliciting proposals on August 7th from Greek yogurt makers who will be seeking to provide Greek yogurt to schools in up to 12 states as part of USDA’s School Lunch Program, which, at Schumer’s urging, was recently expanded to include Greek yogurt. Schumer, in advance of the USDA’s solicitation, is urging New York Greek yogurt producers like Alpina, Fage, Chobani, Muller Quaker and more, to apply. Earlier this month, Schumer announced that Chobani and Upstate Niagara had been selected to provide Greek yogurt to seven different states for one month as part of the program. This is now the second time USDA is soliciting bids. The pilot program, which Schumer announced in early March expanded the initial pilot to twelve states, including New York, Arizona, Idaho, Tennessee, California, Iowa, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Vermont, Washington and Mississippi. The program will run from September 2014 to June 2015 and USDA will select one or multiple vendors to provide Greek yogurt.
Following news in January that schools that participated in an initial 3-month Greek yogurt pilot had consumed 200,000 pounds and $300,000-worth of Greek yogurt, Schumer urged the USDA to expand this program to additional states in his pursuit of permanently adding this high-nutrition and protein-rich food to the USDA School Lunch Program.
“Bringing NY-made Greek yogurt to school lunchrooms across the country will further the growth of our burgeoning dairy industry, and solidify New York’s reputation as the Silicon Valley of Greek yogurt. So I’m urging all New York Greek yogurt producers to apply for the next round of the USDA Greek yogurt pilot program. It is a great opportunity for them to send their products to new regions, grow their business, and show the entire country what Greek yogurt is all about,” said Schumer. “These Greek yogurt producers support jobs throughout our state, in dairy farms from the Finger Lakes to the Hudson Valley; so having one of our local producers selected for this pilot would help the dairy industry and our entire economy, all while providing a high-protein, nutritious snack for our kids.”
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