Alaska World Milk Day banners proper nutrition, active lifestyle

MANILA, Philippines — A lively crowd of 5,600 early-risers composed of kids, teens, students, government employees, and private sector representatives gathered to celebrate the importance of drinking milk and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle during the Alaska World Milk Day celebrations at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on June 1.

The gathering was part of the global observance of World Milk Day, an international day established by the Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations to promote milk as a global food central to health and well-being across cultures and nations.

In the Philippines, Alaska Milk Corporation spearheads World Milk Day festivities for the seventh consecutive year. The annual event reinforces the importance of drinking milk, proper nutrition, and regular physical activity to achieve optimum health.

Fun run participants enjoy a serving of Alaska Milk which powered them throughout the morning activities. Photo Release

This year, key personalities from the government and private sector joined the morning activities including  Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairperson Maria Rachel Arenas, Quezon City Mayor-elect Joy Belmonte and Commodore Leovigildo Panopio—acting commander of the Philippine Coast Guard.

Also at the event were Glady Quindoza-Bunao—vice president of the Association of Child-Caring Agencies of the Philippines—and Alex Compton, head coach and coaching staff at Aces Basketball Team, and Richard Bachman, team manager.

Milk: the complete food

Hosted by Andre Co and Alaska Fortified endorser Jolina Magdangal-Escueta, the morning program started with energetic music and funky beats in a Zumba session led by the Alaska Zumba Masters. Afterward, the Alaska Fun Run featured thousands of runners sprinting around the entire Quezon City Circle grounds.

After the Fun Run, a milk toast culminated the celebration. Young and old alike raised cups filled with energy-giving Alaska Milk as part of the pledge and commitment to start a regular health and fitness regimen, as well as getting into the morning milk habit.

“World Milk Day is an opportunity for Alaska to contribute to nation building by helping children meet basic nutritional needs. We even go to barangays to advocate good nutrition, going around the country to celebrate the goodness of milk. On the corporate level, we have a company-wide initiative where employees donate part of their salary towards giving milk to children,” explained Marco Bertacca, managing director for Alaska.

“Alaska joins the international community in celebrating World Milk Day by reminding people of all ages about the importance of drinking milk. Milk is a very good source of nutrition that is easily prepared and readily available for everyone,” shared Hendro Poedjono, regional director for Alaska Corporate Affairs.

Long considered a complete food, milk contains calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. The body readily absorbs calcium found in milk. Phosphorus plays a role in calcium absorption and utilization. Phosphorus is needed in the proper ratio with calcium to form bone. Truly a wonder drink, milk is also a significant source of riboflavin (Vitamin B2) which helps promote healthy skin and eyes, as well as vitamins A and D.

Fighting malnutrition one glass at a time

In the Philippines, malnutrition claims the lives of 95 kids every year. To combat this problem, Alaska commits to proper nutrition by giving two glasses of milk to beneficiaries for every Alaska Fun Run participant. Additionally, for every purchase of Alaska Fortified Powdered Milk Drink, the company pledges to give glasses of milk to undernourished Filipino children through the help of partner agencies — Quezon City LGU, ACCAP, and the DepEd Adopt-a-School Program.

“Alaska started in 1972 as a proudly Filipino company with a mission to provide affordable nutrition to Filipino families. What better way to bring our purpose to life than to encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle and provide milk to kids who need it the most,” says Harvey Uong, marketing and business development director for Alaska.

“Alaska Milk, being arguably the very first Filipino dairy company, has, for more than four decades, committed to being a provider of affordable nutrition to every family. Today is a very rare moment where Alaska Milk’s stakeholders — partners from the government, its employees, distributors, suppliers, consumers and the public in general — gathered together for a common purpose: to fight malnutrition one glass of milk at a time, one malnourished kid at a time. Through our collective efforts, 11,200 glasses of milk will be donated to nurture malnourished and stunted orphaned children,” shared Maria Angela Esquivel, a lawyer and corporate affairs director for Alaska.

For over four decades, Alaska Milk Corporation has been dedicated to providing affordable nutrition for every Filipino home.

For more information on Alaska World Milk Day, visit www.alaskaworldmilkday.com, like www.facebook.com/WorldMlikDayPH, or follow @AlaskaWorldMilkDay on Twitter and Instagram.