Survey finds nurseries favour local milk for sustainability and community impact

Nation.Cymru Team

Nurseries in Wales say it’s important that the milk they serve to children comes from local farms and dairies.

126 nurseries in Wales took part in a survey by nursery and school milk supplier, Cool Milk, with all but one saying that it is important the milk they buy is sourced locally and supports Welsh businesses.

Children under five in Wales are entitled to free milk through the Nursery Milk Scheme, whereby nurseries often have to buy subsidised milk themselves, with many turning to supermarkets to meet their needs.

Each purchase must be recorded, matched to attendance data and processed through the local council’s system, which can be time-consuming and inconsistent.

While a small number of supermarkets in Wales have committed to selling milk from Welsh dairies, most of the milk sold in supermarkets is more broadly produced within the UK and very little is shared about how far the milk has travelled before it is sold. This means British milk sold in Wales could have been made anywhere in the UK.

But nurseries say that it’s important to them and for families that milk comes from genuinely local sources.

Support local business

Rebecca Davies, Managing Director at Willow Daycare in Carmarthen, said: “It is so important for us to support local businesses in our rural community, especially during our current financial climate of the cost of living crisis.

“We are a small business ourselves and fully appreciate the financial challenges that are faced by us all, but if we all support each other as a community, we can successfully manage these challenging times.

“Wales has a long history of working and supporting each other as a community which sometimes gets forgotten, but community is so important to uphold the sense of belonging, along with understanding the importance of local produce and the benefits to our environment and health.

“Our children are the future, and we need to promote their understanding of sustainability and what can be locally sourced.”

Lydia Lapton, Childcare Supervisor at Cylch Meithrin Dechrau Dysgu in Barry, said: “As a registered charity, Cylch is committed to supporting the local community wherever possible.

“We believe it is important to work with and invest in local businesses rather than large corporate companies, as this helps to strengthen the local economy and build meaningful, long-term partnerships.

“Cool Milk has proven to be a highly reliable local supplier, consistently providing an excellent level of service. Their communication is clear, deliveries are dependable, and they are always willing to accommodate our needs.

“We are extremely satisfied with the service they provide and value the positive working relationship we have built with them.”

Cool Milk company

Cool Milk, which supplies milk to almost half of all nurseries in Wales (48%), has committed to supplying Welsh milk for Welsh children, wherever possible, working with a network of 47 Welsh dairies to supply 895 nurseries.

They hope that by sourcing milk from local dairies, it can reduce the product’s environmental impact while supporting local communities and the rural economy.

This approach helps small and family-run dairies to grow, providing reliable business that supports local jobs and livelihoods, as well as cutting costs on importing milk from further afield.

Mike Ferrand, Managing Director of Cool Milk, said: “Cool Milk was founded by a dairy farmer and we grew with the support of our neighbours in a small rural village so it’s always been important to us that we support farms and dairies, connecting young milk drinkers with agriculture within their own communities.

“Aside from conversations with schools and nurseries and anecdotal information though, we didn’t realise just how important this was to our customers too.

“People across the country are conscious of where their food and drink comes from, how it’s made and who is benefiting from its sale.

“Supermarkets are convenient for some and low priced but you don’t get that connection to place and people that you get from knowing your milk is coming from the family-run dairy down the road and the cows from the fields nearby. There’s something special about that and parents know that too.

“Of course, it’s more sustainable to buy local produce, but I think the most compelling argument for what we do is that it’s supporting your local community and sustaining people’s livelihoods and local farming heritage, and that’s immensely valuable.

“We’re making a real effort to expand our network of nurseries and dairies within Wales and it’s really encouraging to see that nurseries and parents are behind us on that mission.”

You can find out more about the survey here.