USDA Requests Greek Yogurt Proposals
New York Senator Charles Schumer stated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin requesting proposals from Greek yogurt makers.
The proposals will begin on May 20th and wants to offer Greek yogurt to twelve states, in the recent USDA enlarged Greek yogurt pilot plan. It calls on manufacturers such as Fage, Chobani and Alpina amongst others, to apply.
The Greek yogurt program will expand to eight newly added states and will be administered from September 2014 to June 2015. It includes Arizona, Idaho, Tennessee, Iowa, Connecticut, California, North Carolina, Washington, Mississippi, Vermont, Illinois and New York. The USDA will choose one or various merchants to supply the Greek product.
The Democratic Senator wants the USDA to widen the pilot scheme to more states. This proposal precedes January's news that participating schools in a preliminary 3-month Greek yogurt pilot, ate $300,000 worth and 200,000 pounds of healthy Greek yogurt.
Senator Charles Schumer added, "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 Greek yogurt capital...These Greek yogurt producers support jobs throughout our state, in dairy farms from the Finger Lakes to the Hudson Valley; so helping them grow their business through this pilot will help our economy, all while providing a high-protein, nutritious snack for our kids."