The USDA has awarded New York’s Chobani Yogurt with a one-month contract to provide its yogurt to public schools across seven states through the USDA’s School Lunch Program Pilot. These states will include New York, Arizona, Idaho, California, Iowa, Illinois and Mississippi.
Chobani will be providing its Greek yogurt from the beginning of the school year in August through September. In addition, New York’s Upstate Niagara Cooperative – based in Buffalo – will also be supplying schools in Arizona with Greek yogurt.
USDA will be considering bids to provide Greek yogurt for the rest of the school year. The entire pilot program will run through the end of the school year in June 2015.
U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as Rep. Richard Hanna, announced the news June 19.
“This is a major win for New York state and the entire New York dairy industry, and is proof positive that greek yogurt is a true economic engine for the state," said Schumer.
Following news in January that schools participating in an initial three-month Greek yogurt pilot had consumed 200,000 pounds and $300,000-worth of Greek yogurt, USDA decided to expand the program to twelve states: New York, Arizona, Idaho, Tennessee, California, Iowa, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Vermont, Washington and Mississippi.
Only seven of those twelve states will be receiving Greek yogurt from Chobani and Upstate Niagara in this first month of the program. PD
