Galliker Dairy Inc. is one of three milk suppliers for the Altoona Area School District, along with Vale Wood Farms and Ritchey’s Dairy, said Paula Foreman, community relations director.

Galliker announced this week that, while there is plenty of milk, supply chain issues are causing a shortage of the 8 ounce cartons used to package the milk for schools and other institutions.

The shortage affects dairy processors across the country, especially in the East and Midwest regions, said Julia Galliker, executive vice president of the Johnstown dairy.

“It is a serious problem — everyone is struggling, but also working together to get through the shortages,” Galliker said.

Pleasant Valley Elementary school third grader Lylah Jenkins pays for her lunch in the school cafeteria on Thursday afternoon. Mirror photo by Cati Keith

This is not a shortage of milk, she emphasized, but strictly a national shortage of paper cartons.

Foreman said the district is aware of the shortage and was told there would be sufficient supply through the beginning of November. After that, the district will prioritize how the milk is used, she said.

Milk during breakfast will be a guarantee, and milk will be available at the elementary level as supplies last.

The alternative for milk at the secondary level is water, Foreman said.

Hollidaysburg Area School District is also aware of the issue and uses the same three milk suppliers as AASD.

Betsy Snyder, HASD food service director, said the district had been contacted by Galliker Dairy and asked to reduce its orders by 40%, beginning immediately.

Snyder said Vale Wood and Ritchey’s are monitoring their carton supply but have not put caps on their orders yet.

“With Galliker’s limiting our order, we are shifting our spending so that our elementary students receive cartons,” she said, noting the district uses 2,568 cartons of milk per day.

The district is planning to provide self-serve stations with half gallon containers at the senior and junior high schools if needed, she added.

“We are working through this milk carton shortage, but making sure that students continue to have access to milk at school as it provides many essential nutrients that are important to our students’ overall health,” Snyder said.

Limited suppliers

School milk suppliers are in a bind because the makers of the half-pint and 4 ounce paper containers can’t produce enough cartons to meet demand, Galliker said.

Industry consolidations — partly due to a drop in milk consumption — have narrowed the field, with only two companies in the nation making custom milk cartons, said Carissa Westrick, director of business and development for Vale Wood Farms in Loretto.

Of those two, one provides the “majority of cartons to dairy processors in Pennsylvania,” she said.

Galliker said the dairy was told the reduced allocation of milk cartons begins with deliveries made in Pennsylvania today, Friday, Nov. 3, followed by customers elsewhere on Monday, Nov. 6.

Galliker, which sells about 50 million units of milk to all schools and other customers every year, was notified last week that the dairy will receive just 60% of its 2022 purchase volumes, she said.

In turn, Galliker notified each school or institution the dairy serves about the paper product shortage, she said, noting every school is impacted at some level, including those in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia.

“We are actively looking for other packaging options, including plastic containers,” Galliker said.

Westrick said Vale Wood’s stock of cartons is fine at the moment, but when they go to reorder for the next month, there is no guarantee they will get a full shipment.

“Right now everything is fine, but that could change because we are at the manufacturer’s mercy,” she said.

Andrew Ritchey, president of Ritchey’s Dairy, said he is aware of the shortage, but so far his company hasn’t had any issues.

“Right now, we are OK as long as we get our next shipment in,” he said.

Capping orders

In an effort to supply each location with small cartons of milk during the shortage, Galliker said the dairy is limiting its orders for cartons to 1% white milk, fat free chocolate and lactose-free milk, so schools and institutions they supply are limited to those choices as well. It is hoped that by only ordering three different kinds of cartons, the dairy will receive their full product allotment.

Once the carton shortage has ended, the dairy will resume supplying the full range of products, she said.

Galliker and other dairies will continue to offer a variety of milk and other beverages in plastic jugs, as the shortage affects only the small paper cartons.

It is possible for schools to pour milk for students, as other states have established guidelines for that, Galliker said in a news release.

Westrick said many of its school districts have also considered the option of pouring the milk.

“There is no shortage in milk; that is fine. It is just finding ways to get it to schools and other businesses that use the cartons,” she said.

She said food service directors who went through the shortages caused by COVID-19 will be able to find creative solutions because they already have experience working through the challenges.

Galliker said it is coordinating with other regional dairies to meet customer needs as the shortage is expected to continue through the end of the year.

Mirror Staff Writer Cati Keith is at 814-946-7535.