KANSAS CITY, KS. – Dairy industry leaders joined hunger relief organizations from across the Midwest to exchange ideas and discuss business models that will help get more dairy into the hands of people experiencing food insecurity.
The first Dairy Nourishes America Midwest Symposium was organized by Feeding America®, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. DFA hosted the meeting, June 22-24.
Members of 32 Feeding America network food banks from 15 states joined representatives of dairy processors, refrigeration companies, National Milk Producers Federation, U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) and others to address solutions to provide more dairy to people in need. Feeding America reports – on average – a person seeking assistance from food banks receives less than a gallon of milk a year, yet it remains among the most requested items among the 38 million Americans facing hunger.
Barb O’Brien, CEO and president of Dairy Management Inc. and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, pointed to the steady growth of dairy products moving through Feeding America, a checkoff partner, over the years. Industry efforts, including from local and national checkoff teams, cooperatives, processors and USDA, helped grow the amount of dairy distributed from 446 million pounds in 2019 to 664 million in 2021, according to Feeding America data.
O’Brien said the Innovation Center’s food security taskforce, led by DFA executive Jackie Klippenstein and retired Kroger executive Erin Sharp, is working to rally the industry to distribute 1 billion pounds of dairy annually by 2025.
“It’s ambitious but achievable,” O’Brien said. “If we work together, we can address those gaps and opportunities like transportation, cold storage and other infrastructure challenges that we know exist.
“No child or individual within one of the most food-secure nations in the world should go hungry or lack access to the affordable, unmatched nutrition that dairy provides.”
Jerod Matthews, who serves as Feeding America’s senior director of dairy product resourcing, said increasing access to more dairy requires a new business model that doesn’t simply count on donations.
“Feeding America is looking for innovative ways to access food donations from across the supply chain,” Matthews said. “As companies increase efficiencies, less product remains available for donation. We need strong public/private partnerships in order to continue providing food assistance to the tens of millions of people turning to the charitable food sector for help.”
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack referenced USDA programs that have addressed hunger and made dairy available. He pointed to more than $39 million in grants through the agency’s Emergency Food Assistance Program to support low-income and underserved communities, including expanding warehouse and refrigeration capacity in food banks. Vilsack also spoke of the $400 million Dairy Donation Program where dairy organizations partner with food banks to facilitate donations and reduce food waste.
“I look forward to hearing more ideas about how we can work together to make certain that no American goes to bed malnourished,” Vilsack said. “When organizations like Feeding America host meetings like this one and develop private sector efforts, our country comes closer to finding meaningful and sustainable solutions.”
Klippenstein described a “culture of community” at DFA and said the co-op’s Farmers Feeding Families Fund has raised almost $950,000 from its farmer members, staff and allied partners to provide dairy for those in need. She presented food bank operators with a scenario of how more progress can be made collaboratively.
“Food banks have relied heavily on donated dairy products for their clients. Generally, dairy donations are provided inconsistently — often when there is excess product or when bringing attention to an event like World Milk Day or September Hunger Action Month,” she said. “The pandemic taught us how high in demand dairy is at food banks and how it can play a critical role in addressing food insecurity. Hosting this meeting gives us a chance to be at the table to discuss new opportunities to work together.
“By leveraging state and federal programs with industry donations and food bank purchases, the dairy industry can create meaningful, long-term relationships with food banks using sustainable business models to ensure milk is more consistently available to those who need it most.”
The meeting also featured expert speakers, including Dr. Chris Cifelli, senior vice president of nutrition research for National Dairy Council (NDC). Cifelli emphasized how dairy can help people meet their nutritional needs, saying an NDC-led study used a computerized analysis of the nutrition data of foods and examined what would happen if dairy was eliminated from the diet.
“We ran numerous simulations, and it turned out that dairy is extremely difficult to replace,” Cifelli said. “Yes, you can try to replace milk but there are tradeoffs. You’re going to have to eat more food and consume more calories and you’re going to have to pay more and that’s something consumers may not want to consider.”
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About The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy®
The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy is a forum that brings together the dairy community to address the changing needs and expectations of consumers through a framework of shared best practices and accountability. Initiated in 2008 by dairy farmers through the dairy checkoff, we collaborate on efforts that are important both to us and our valued customers in areas like animal care, food safety, nutrition and health, the environment and community contributions. Through the Innovation Center, the U.S. dairy community demonstrates its commitment to continuous improvement from farm to table, striving to ensure a socially responsible and economically viable dairy community.
About Feeding America®
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations, and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, we helped provide 6.6 billion meals to tens of millions of people in need last year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; brings attention to the social and systemic barriers that contribute to food insecurity in our nation; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
About Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a national, farmer-owned dairy cooperative focusing on quality, innovation and the future of family dairies. While supporting and serving more than 11,500 family farm-owners, DFA manufactures a variety of dairy products, including fluid milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, dairy ingredients and more that connect our Cooperative’s family farms to family tables with regional brands such as Alta Dena® Dairy, Meadow Gold® Dairy, Friendly®’s, Borden® Cheese, Plugra® Premium Butter and Kemps® to name a few. On a global scale, we work with some of the world’s largest food companies to develop ingredients their customers are craving, while staying committed to social responsibility and ethical farming. For more information, please visit dfamilk.com.
