Since the early 20th century, Chile has responded to high indices of infant mortality and malnutrition with programs that distribute milk to families in exchange for their maintenance of a preventative healthcare program. This article outlines the background and extent of these efforts, tracking their institutionalization from charitable initiatives to a universal right as of 1954. During the government of Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964-1970) in the context of a progressive communitarian health project, local clinic workers would go door-to-door recruiting mothers to become beneficiaries. For many women, neither formal workers nor habitual voters, these encounters were their first with the state. The article relies on site-intensive research and in-depth interviews with experts, service providers and families to trace how state expansion was experienced at the local level.