Nationwide milk carton shortage hitting NY dairy farmers, schools

A nationwide milk carton shortage is hitting dairy farmers and schools across New York state.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pledging to do something about it. The senator from New York is calling on the USDA to investigate, and work with industry leaders to get creative, and get milk to our school cafeterias.

Pactiv Evergreen, a company that calls themselves the  “the leading manufacturer of fresh food and beverage packaging in North America,” said they’re facing “significantly higher than projected demand” for its milk cartons.

The problem is not a shortage of milk itself.

New York state is home to more than 3,200 dairy farms, and produced 15.66 billion pounds of milk in 2022, the senator said.

“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 said in a statement.

He’s also demanding an investigation that will stop disruptions like this from happening in the future and minimize the impact on New Yorkers.