SHAH ALAM - In an effort to promote social responsibility, Farm Fresh Berhad organised a vibrant celebration for the National Level World School Milk Day Carnival, aligning it with the 2023/24 School Milk Programme.
This event highlights Farm Fresh's commitment as a school milk distributor, serving eight states across Peninsular Malaysia under the tender of the Education Ministry.
The carnival was graced by the presence of Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek who officiated the ceremony, Farm Fresh Group Berhad Chief Operating Officer (COO) Azmi Zainal Additionally along with representatives from the Education Ministry.
This year, Farm Fresh organises various activities that include various aspects such as arts, through Choral Speaking competition and Drawing and Coloring Competition, they also touch on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) elements through the Farm in School competition and Farm Fresh Grand Prix Recycled Car Competition which allows students to build mini racing cars using used milk containers.
Most importantly, Farm Fresh has built 10 Multidimensional Poverty Prevention Centers (Pusat Pencegahan Kemiskinan Multidimensi) that allow students to participate in tuition programmes and various other life skills activities for three days a week.
A key highlight of the event was the presentation of seven prestigious award categories, sponsored by Farm Fresh.
These awards celebrated the achievements of schools and students nationwide, reflecting the company's dedication to fostering educational and nutritional excellence through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
In the event, Fadhlina said that the ministry's objective in implementing this programme is to foster the practice of consuming milk or dairy products in the diet of students, especially students from low-income families.
"It is hoped that this will become the practice of students until they grow up so that we can form a healthy and fit generation.
"In addition to fostering the practice of drinking milk, this programme is also an effort by the Health Ministry together to ensure that students in primary schools get balanced and complete nutrition for each school day. Based on this and the support of the Health Ministry, this programme has been strengthened and will continue in 2024," she said.
Farm Fresh Berhad as the largest supplier needs to supply milk to nearly 355,000 students, 3,037 schools, and a total supply involving 63 million boxes of milk for supply throughout this program (until May 2024).
Meanwhile, Azmi said Farm Fresh is very proud to once again be one of the dairy producers supporting the School Milk Programme this year.
"This programme targets good nutrition for students under RMT to combat the problem of malnutrition and stunting to support the better growth of children.
"While we take care of nutrition for the children, at the same time, we help local entrepreneurs under our Home Dealers programme," he said.
In addition, Farm Fresh said that initiatives to campaign on 'Green Environment' practices also need to be implemented by companies to preserve the environment.
It is a joint effort between the private sector and the government to provide health benefits to students while at the same time providing positive input to them.
Farm Fresh has partnered with Tetra Pak Malaysia, the milk box packaging company used by Farm Fresh to run a recycling campaign in schools by providing special recycling bins to encourage recycling practices in selected schools.
Tetra Pak also established a collaboration with Farm Fresh by organising a national level Farm in School competition by evaluating the school's creativity in creating a garden using recycled materials as well as the application of agricultural knowledge among students towards creating a love for the environment.
Tetra Pak ASEAN Sustainability Director Terrynz Tan expressed her excitement to partner with Farm Fresh, helping students raise awareness of the importance of nutrition for growth and instilling recycling practices from a young age for a sustainable lifestyle.
"This collaboration is also in line with the Malaysian government's ambitions for a Circular Economy. Through this initiative, we aim to contribute to building a brighter and more sustainable future for our country," she said.
The Education Ministry has continued the School Milk Program (PSS) in the Supplementary Food Plan (RMT) starting from May last year until June 2024 in an open tender to local milk manufacturers to supply milk directly to schools and primary school students receiving aid throughout the country.
Beneficiaries of this assistance consist of students from extremely poor families, students with special educational needs (MBPK), and students in Asli or Penan schools.
School Milk (PSS) has been implemented since 1983 and continues until now. PSS is implemented in general to implement the practice of drinking milk in addition to improving the level of nutrition and health among primary school students.
In addition, the presence of milk in the meal, will ensure that students receive complete nutrition and a balanced diet to support the growth of children and cultivate good habits to stay healthy and fresh.