HARRISBURG, Pa. – Through its DFA Cares Foundation, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a national farmer-owned dairy cooperative, is making good use of Northeast-area milk by providing two truckloads of milk, which were processed into 10,000 pounds of cheese, for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The food bank is part of the national Feeding America network.
The donation, which was processed at Amish cheesemaker Oak Shade Cheese in Kirkwood, Pennsylvania, was picked up by representatives of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank on Monday, March 27. The cheese will be available to agencies which provide food to more than 65,000 adults and children served by the food bank in the central Pennsylvania area.
"As a dairy farmer, I am thrilled to see milk in the Northeast help benefit people and families who need it most," said Bill Beeman from Kingsley, Pennsylvania and a member of Dairy Farmers of America’s Northeast Council.
Beeman said, "As a cooperative, we are committed to serving those communities where we live and work, so this is a great example of how we give back."
One in eight central Pennsylvanians, including one in five children, struggles with hunger and rely on the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and its partner agencies for food assistance each year. Through 900 local agencies, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank provides nearly 650,000 nutritious meals to people in need every week.
"Dairy products, like cheese, are rarely donated, due to the perishability," said Joe Arthur, executive director at Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. "With this donation, we can help provide our clients and families with not only a food that they love eating, but also one that provides nutritional benefits like calcium, protein and other important nutrients."
The cheese processing was funded through the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS), an innovative program administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. PASS puts healthy and nutritious food grown by Pennsylvania farmers into the charitable food system, providing a safe, efficient method for farmers, packers and processors to be reimbursed for costs involved in harvesting, processing or packaging donated product. The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank administers the funds and works with member organizations of the state anti-hunger associations Feeding Pennsylvania and Hunger Free Pennsylvania to distribute healthy, nutritious food to Pennsylvanians in need. PASS serves all 67 counties via 3,000 individual charitable organizations in the Commonwealth.
DFA, Oak Shade Cheese, and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank were brought together through the coordination of the American Dairy Association North East (ADANE).
The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank donation was made possible through the DFA Cares Foundation, which was established in 2005 as a nonprofit charitable organization. Through the DFA Cares Foundation, DFA provides disaster relief via product and monetary donations, invests in the future of the industry with scholarships to students pursuing careers in dairy, and contributes dairy and food products for those in need.
Source: Dairy Farmers of America (DFA)