TN Schools Become Part Of Greek Yogurt Craze

Chobani didn’t exist until 2005 and has since grown to $1 billion in annual sales and the number one seller of Greek yogurt. Credit: Janellie / via Flickr

Tennessee school children will become taste testers as they return to class over the coming weeks. The state has been chosen for a pilot program to begin offering Greek yogurt in subsidized lunches.

Chobani is the young company behind a recent national spike in consumption of tangy Greek yogurt . It has won a $300,000 contract to supply lunches in four states, including Tennessee. Nearly 50,000 pounds of blueberry and strawberry yogurt will soon arrive at cafeterias across the state from kindergarten to high school.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will determine the next step after reviewing the results in December. The government is looking for a cost effective way to get more protein in school lunches. Greek yogurt has roughly twice as much as conventional yogurt.

New York Sen. Charles Schumer has been pushing to get Greek yogurt into schools. Chobani is also based in his state.