South Dakota’s Rapid City school district, with financial support from Midwest Dairy and additional partners, launched a food truck program as part of the federally reimbursed Summer Feeding Program. Checkoff support of the program ensured dairy foods and the Undeniably Dairy logo would be featured on the food truck wrap.
Not only are food trucks a trendy, appealing way to receive food, each meal served from the Rapid City school district truck includes milk, ensuring that more students enjoy dairy’s nutritional benefits. Cheese and yogurt options are also on the food truck menu.
During the summer, the food truck hit the road and served students in isolated areas who previously had limited access to summer meal programs. In its first month, Rapid City school district’s Food Truck Program served more than 75 meals, including dairy products, per day to students. To continue the success of the program, the food truck is also being used on-site for the 2018-19 school year.
Now, in addition to reaching food insecure students, the truck targets high school students who typically go off-campus to eat. Keeping students on-campus has the potential to increase sales of milk and other dairy foods offered with school meals.
