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DAIRY ST R
Volume 23, No. 24
February 12, 2022
“All dairy, all the time”™
More milk, less waste McLeod County ADA teams up with school districts to provide beverage dispensers By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
HUTCHINSON, Minn. – Students lined the cafeteria as they waited their turn to use the school’s new milk dispenser at Hutchinson High School Feb. 1. And when the students were done with lunch, they came back for a second, sometimes a third, helping of milk. “We’re winning,” Kevin Buss said. “These kids are sitting down and having conversation around milk. That’s pretty cool.” Buss, a dairy farmer from Hutchinson, worked with the school district and Minnesota Department of Agriculture grant funds to provide the high school with a milk dispenser to be used during lunch hours. The dispensers were also installed in the Dassel-Cokato and Litcheld school districts, which share the same food service
as Hutchinson. Each high school has one dispenser that has the option to serve milk from three spouts during the lunch hours. Not only has this method encouraged consumption, with fresh dairy provided by a local creamery, it has also eliminated some use of cartons and signicantly reduced waste, as noted in just the rst week of the program launching. At Hutchinson High School, 555 students were served on that rst day with only 2 quarts of milk dumped with the lunch trays, according to the school. Lesli Mueller is the director of child nutrition for the three school districts. “This is so new, but I have a feeling this is going to be a really good thing for the students,” she said. This program has been four years in the making. The idea for a way to provide fresh, great-tasting milk came from Buss’ time on the board for Midwest Dairy. JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR “It’s always been our goal to get quality food in front of kids,” Buss said. “But milk Hutchinson High School agriculture teacher ScoƩ Marshall (leŌ) and dairy farmer Leah Kurth (right) help students use the milk-dispensing machine at the high Turn to MCLEOD COUNTY ADA school Feb. 1 in Hutchinson, Minnesota. The McLeod County ADA helped spon| Page 6 sor the new machine.
Fight like a farm girl Community to host cancer benet fundraiser for Fick family By Kate Rechtzigel kate.r@dairystar.com
KATE RECHTZIGEL/DAIRY STAR
Abby Fick is pictured with her parents, Tara and Troy, Feb. 2 at their home near Lake City, Minnesota. In December 2021, Fick underwent surgery to remove cancerous tumors in her leŌ arm and shoulder.
LAKE CITY, Minn. − Strength, determination and grit helped 14-year-old Abby Fick overcome malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor cancer and ultimately cope with the loss of her left arm and shoulder. “She’s always had a mind of her own, likes to be the mother hen and make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to do,” Tara Fick said. Troy Fick agreed. “Out of our four kids, she’s the toughest one,” he said. Troy and Tara Fick milk 250 cows in Lake City with their kids – Mallory, 19, Rylee, 16, Abby, 14, and Nolan, 12. Abby is recovering mentally, physically and emotionally from a surgery in late December 2021 which removed a cancerous tumor from her left arm and shoulder, and now the community is showing
up in support of the family. At 9 months old, Abby was diagnosed with neurobromatosis type 1, a health disease which attacks nerves in the body and develops tumors. “Most of the time the tumors are supposed to stay dormant,” Tara said. Since Abby’s diagnosis, the Fick family attended regular checkups up until Abby was in fth grade. “The doctors decided then that everything was going well enough that they could extend the checkups to every three years instead of every year,” Tara said. In the middle of May 2021, Abby came to Tara with tingling and numbness in her left arm. “She just nished playing softball so I didn’t know if she had just injured it or if it was sore because she was a pitcher,” Tara said. A month later, Tara noticed there was a signicant difference in the size of Abby’s left arm compared to her right. “It was much smaller,” Tara said. “So, I got her in to see the family doctor. He was very concerned and suggested I get
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