KANSAS CITY, KAN. -- Dairy Farmers of America, along with its employees and family farm-owners, are continuing their commitment to helping fight hunger by supporting Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month this September. Through its DFA Cares Farmers Feeding Families Fund, DFA is donating commercial refrigeration to community food pantries in 20 states and keeping them stocked with milk through the end of the year.
Food insecurity continues to be a significant problem in the United States with millions of people facing hunger each year. The coronavirus pandemic has caused even more families to struggle, as Feeding America, with its more than 200 affiliates across the country, estimates that 42 million people may be food insecure due to the pandemic, including 13 million children.
To help families struggling with hunger, DFA and its farm family-owners are donating 21 refrigerators to local food pantries across its seven regional Areas throughout the US and the equivalent of more than 225,000 servings of milk.
“Our farm families are deeply rooted in their local communities, and we know that hunger exists in each and every area that our Cooperative serves,” said Jackie Klippenstein, senior vice president of government, industry and community relations at DFA. “We launched this refrigeration program last year, as milk is one of the most highly requested items at food pantries, yet many don’t have the cold storage to keep it and other perishable items stocked up. By helping provide long-term infrastructure improvements with refrigeration, we can help ensure that our neighbors in need have access to nutrient-rich milk and other dairy products.”
Since its inception in 2020, DFA’s Farmers Feeding Families Fund has raised $740,000 and donated the equivalent of 24 million servings of milk to food banks and pantries in 500 communities across the country.
For more information about DFA’s Farmers Feeding Families Fund or to make a donation, go to DFAMILK.COM/DFACARES.