Milk Bar - Modern Era

Modern Era

Milk bars in Australia today almost universally sell ice creams, sweets, chocolate bars, soft drinks, newspapers, bread and occasionally fast food. Some also serve milkshakes. Although there are far fewer milk bars than there were during the 1970s and 80s due to changing shopping habits, most people living in suburban areas still have a milk bar within walking distance or a short drive of their home.

In the United Kingdom, the National Milk Bar franchise is an ordinary café / restaurant chain which is related to the original milk bars in name only. Once numbering around 20 outlets, which were located in Wales and near the Welsh border in England, now only one remains. In the UK, corner shops serve a similar function to milk bars in modern Australia, providing everyday groceries, sweets, newspapers and such.

There is a campaign in the UK to encourage school children to consume more dairy products, by installing 'milk bars' in schools. The idea is that if the dairy products are attractively presented and properly stored, the children will be more willing to buy them. The organisers behind the project work to develop links with school caterers, so that the handling of milk and dairy produce can be improved, and they promote milk consumption and encourage milk drinking to become a habit that will be carried into adulthood. The milk bar project has been extremely successful in Scotland for 18 years, and it is currently being extended across England and Wales.