Washington, D.C. – The Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) announced today that the two organizations are joining forces to highlight and strengthen two philanthropic endeavors, Defeat HungerSM and The Great American Milk Drive. With more than 46.5 million Americans currently facing hunger, these campaigns aim to make a difference by uniting at the co-located PROCESS EXPO and International Dairy Show, taking place Sept. 15-18, 2015, at Chicago’s McCormick Place. In addition to donations from organizations, trade show exhibitors and attendees are being asked to support the initiatives in order to make an even greater impact.
The Defeat HungerSM campaign is part of FPSA's Giving Back initiative. In conjunction with the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD), a food drive is conducted at PROCESS EXPO, with all donations and proceeds going to the GCFD to help fight hunger in the greater Chicago area.
“Our Defeat Hunger campaign in 2013 was wildly successful, generating meals for more than 240,000 individuals in Cook County,” said David Seckman, President and CEO of FPSA. “We are looking forward to surpassing that this year and giving back to the community and are happy to be joined this year by The Great American Milk Drive campaign. We are confident that together we can make an even more significant impact on the lives of people in need.”
Milk is one of the items most requested by Feeding America®, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, and its network of food banks, but milk is rarely donated. The Great American Milk Drive is the first national campaign designed to help deliver highly desired gallons of nutrient-rich milk to hungry families in local communities.
The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), IDFA and the National Dairy Council (NDC) are asking exhibitors and attendees at the International Dairy Show to stand together as an industry and support The Great American Milk Drive during Feeding America’s September Hunger Action Month.
“With close to 6,000 attendees at the International Dairy Show, we have an exciting opportunity to unite as the dairy industry and truly make an impact in local communities in need of nutrient-rich milk,” said Julia Kadison, CEO, MilkPEP. “I hope every industry member will make the commitment to help achieve the industry goal and donate at least one gallon for every attendee. We’re proud of and committed to this highly relevant industry cause, and plan to match the first 1,000 gallons of milk donated at the show[1] to help kickoff this united effort.”
Since the campaign’s launch, the dairy industry has generated more than 380,000 gallons of milk – more than 6 million servings – for our nation’s food banks.
“The Great American Milk Drive program not only assists families and children facing hunger in our local communities by helping deliver nutrient-rich milk across the country to Feeding America food banks, but can also make an impact for our industry as a whole,” said Neil Moran, Senior Vice President of IDFA. “We are delighted to be partnering with The Great American Milk Drive and the Defeat Hunger campaign to show how our industries can help those in need in our communities.”
Both of these initiatives partner with Feeding America. Attendees and exhibitors will be able to make donations in advance or on site at the shows. For more information on the Defeat Hunger campaign, visit www.fpsa.org and click on the Defeat Hunger button, or contact Dolores Alonso at (703) 663-1226 or dalonso@fpsa.org. To donate or learn more about The Great American Milk Drive at the International Dairy Show, visit DairyShow.com/information-center/GAMD/.
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ABOUT FPSA
The Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA) is a global trade association serving suppliers in the food and beverage industries. The Association's programs and services support member’s success by providing assistance in marketing their products and services, overall improvement in key business practices and many opportunities to network among industry colleagues. Programs and services to achieve these objectives include PROCESS EXPO (industry leading trade show), electronic media marketing, education, market intelligence, research, and advocation of critical industry issues such as food safety, sanitary design of equipment, and global trade. FPSA members are organized in vertical industry councils which focus on specific needs and concerns that are unique to each industry sector. FPSA councils currently represent the Bakery, Beverage, Dairy, Prepared Foods and Meat sectors.
ABOUT IDFA
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), National Cheese Institute (NCI), International Ice Cream Association (IICA).
Members consist of nearly 200 dairy processing members and their 165 divisions, subsidiaries and joint ventures. These companies range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies, and run nearly 600 plant operations in the United States, Canada and several countries around the world. The companies represent 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. In addition, 345 Gold Business Partner and Business Partner member companies provide processing equipment and supplies, packaging equipment and materials, ingredients and a wide variety of products and services to the dairy processing industry. Nearly 15 state and regional trade associations are also members of IDFA.
ABOUT MilkPEP
The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), Washington, D.C., is funded by the nation's milk companies, who are committed to increasing fluid milk consumption. The MilkPEP Board runs the Milk Life campaign, a multi-faceted campaign designed to educate consumers about the powerful nutritional benefits of milk – with 9 essential nutrients, including high-quality protein, in each 8 ounce glass. For more information, go to milklife.com.
Source: The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
