FILE - Milk cartons are displayed at a high school cafeteria in Los Angeles on May 3, 2011. A shortage of half-pint milk cartons is affecting school meals in cafeterias across the U.S. in 2023. School officials from New York to California are scrambling for backup options after a main supplier of cartons said demand has outstripped supply. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Rather than the age-old question of “Got Milk?” it’s the way of supplying the milk to kids in school that is in question.

Due to a shortage in milk cartons, school districts across the state and beyond are burdened with adapting on the fly when it comes to serving milk to students.

The issue has garnered national attention, as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently sent a letter to urge for action from the USDA.

“Milk is an essential part of our students’ school lunches and the lifeblood of our Upstate NY agricultural economy, but with a national milk carton shortage looming over our schools, now is the time for the USDA to step up to ensure our farmers get more support to continue their essential work. That is why I am calling on the USDA to start to work with industry leaders to address this shortage we are seeing nationwide, and provide all the leadership and technical support needed to help our New York dairy farmers,” said Schumer. “The USDA is uniquely positioned to investigate this problem from a national level and work with the dairy industry, our farmers, and schools to mitigate the impacts of shortages and propose solutions.”

Schumer explained in a press release that the Upstate Niagara Cooperative, a significant industry supplier of half-pint milk carton packaging, “is experiencing operational challenges that are negatively impacting their ability to supply schools with milk packaging orders.”

The Upstate Niagara Cooperative has begun to switch other institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes, from half-pints to larger sizes of milk containers, so that schools can receive the remaining half-pint cartons. Half-gallons of milk have also been offered to schools by the Upstate Niagara Cooperative.

“Given the potential downstream impacts of disruptions to the milk packaging supply chain we also need the USDA to investigate the causes of this carton shortage to determine how we can avoid further disruptions to our dairy farmers and any further steps we can be taking to mitigate problems of this nature in the future,” Schumer said.

The nationwide issue has an especially local impact, as upstate New York and its economy is driven by agriculture. The state has more than 3,200 dairy farms and is the fifth-largest producer of milk.

Local schools have begun to adapt, with Gowanda Central Schools being among the first schools in the area to publicly acknowledge the shortage.

Gowanda Superintendent Dr. Robert Anderson said, “It’s obviously spilling into schools in our area and across the country.”

Anderson stated that because of the shortage, the Gowanda Central School District has transitioned to purchasing milk in gallon jugs.

“We have a plan in place right now to make sure kids get beverages in the morning that are appropriate,” Anderson said. “… Students are getting the nutrition with their meals that they need each day.”

At Gowanda, white and chocolate milk is being served in disposable cups with lids at breakfast for students, prepared by the cafeteria staff. At lunch, students are urged to select juice boxes or other healthy alternatives because of the difficulty serving and storing the milk throughout the day.

“We just don’t have the capacity to pour 1,200 milk servings a day, nor the capacity to store the cups once they are filled,” Anderson said.

According to Director of Health-Related Services Nikki Dispense, the Dunkirk City School District has not yet been impacted by the shortage at any of its schools. A plan similar to Gowanda’s is in place if it does, where milk will be poured and sealed with lids to be served to students. The district’s food service provider has supplied the district with cups and lids in case they are needed.

“Hopefully it doesn’t come to that,” Dispense said.

Pine Valley Central School has not yet been impacted by the shortage in milk cartons. “We were notified that it could happen, but not yet,” said James Przepasniak, interim superintendent.

The district has ordered disposable cups and covers in the event milk has to be served from half-gallon and gallon containers. “There is no shortage of milk products, just the containers,” Przepasniak said.

The Fredonia and Silver Creek school districts are also preparing for the shortage, but neither district has been impacted yet.

Anderson called the shortage “more of an inconvenience for the people who are serving and cleaning up,” because of the hassle of disposal and the increased likelihood of spilling.

Anderson said the cost increase of shifting to an alternative serving method is not a major impact to the district yet, but the longer the shortage lasts, the more of a hit the district’s budget will take.

“Is it a significant cost against a $34 million budget? At this moment, no, but we’ll see how long it goes,” Anderson said.