Milk is one of the most requested yet least donated items at food banks. This is largely because the regional food pantries and shelters, which are served by food banks, often lack the necessary refrigeration to store fresh milk. In fact, according to Feeding America, people who get assistance from food pantries typically receive the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person a year.
The single-serve, 8-ounce Giving Cow packs of ultra-high temperature (UHT) pasteurized milk have a shelf life of up to 12 months. Typically, fresh milk has a shelf life of approximately 20 days after processing. The Giving Cow milk packages are specifically designed for food pantries and kids backpack programs to fight hunger and will not be sold in stores.
“When we learned that millions of kids are missing out on nutrient-rich milk, which is a childhood essential, we knew that we had to try and be a part of the solution,” says Sharon Springborn, senior director of brand marketing at DFA Dairy Brands. “The Giving Cow packs provide valuable nutrition and are shelf-stable, so they don’t require cold storage, which we know can sometimes be limited at smaller food pantries and shelters.”
The DFA regional brands participating in The Giving Cow program include: Alta DenaDairy, Cass-Clay Creamery, Country Fresh Dairy, Garelick Farms, Guida’s Dairy, Jilbert Dairy, Kemps, Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms, Mayfield Dairy Farms, Meadow Gold Dairy, Oak Farms Dairy, PET Dairy, Purity Dairy, Reiter Dairy, Swiss Premium Dairy, T.G. Lee Dairy, and Tuscan Dairy Farms.
Earlier this year, to help families struggling with hunger, DFA, along with its farm family-owners, donated 21 refrigerators to local food pantries across its seven regional Areas throughout the United States and the equivalent of more than 225,000 servings of milk.
