Alex believes the Welsh government should continue the scheme, saying: “I think it will benefit parents as well, because of the cost of living.

“You go into Tesco every day and milk’s just going up all the time. It’s just so expensive.”

Carol agrees, and remembers her daughters, now aged 15 and 21, having free milk in school every day.

“I think they should continue it, all kids like milk,” she added.

NFU Cymru president Abi Reader is a third generation dairy farmer, and said: “We have a responsibility to give the next generation the best possible start and to lead by example.”

She believes getting Welsh milk into schools provides an opportunity to introduce children to the value of healthy eating and local produce.

She said it is difficult to estimate how many Welsh dairy farmers contribute to the supply of school milk, but it could be sourced from right across Wales.

Despite considering the two options, the Welsh government said children “would continue to have opportunities to access milk through existing school breakfast and lunch provision, although access would depend on participation in those services”.

It acknowledged that discontinuing it may have a negative impact on rural businesses and communities within the dairy industry.

However, it said that the scale of the impact is uncertain and is dependent on the extent to which schools and local authorities provide milk through existing school food schemes and how much Welsh dairies rely on revenue from the scheme.

Cabinet Minister for Education and the Welsh Language Anna Brychan said: “Milk has long played a part in supporting the health and well-being of our youngest learners.”

She said she wants to ensure any decisions about the future of the school milk scheme are based on the “fullest possible evidence” and so would encourage “everyone with a view on this issue to take part in the consultation”.

The Welsh government consultation was launched on 26 October and will last for 10 weeks.