Local Dairy Farmers Support Summer Meals with Dairy at Kickoff Events

Dairy-Packed Free Meals are Available to Students 18 Years and Under     

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – American Dairy Association North East and local dairy farmers are partnering with anti-hunger advocate groups across the region through the USDA Summer Meals program. The program ensures students have access to healthy meals with dairy when school is out for the summer. 

Students who depend on free or reduced-cost school meals can get the nutrition they need thanks to the feeding program’s hundreds of sites available in underserved areas. According to Feeding America, nearly 6 million people and one in five to eight children face hunger in ADA North East’s six-state region. 

“Dairy farmers know that hunger doesn’t take a break in the summer, and that’s why checkoff supports the Summer Meals program on their behalf,” said ADA North East CEO John Chrisman. “Families are able to stretch their budgets by taking advantage of the free meals that include milk, cheese and yogurt.” 

“As a school teacher and a mom, I know how important access to healthy meals with dairy in the summertime is for many students,” said Erin Uber of J-Ra and Ubercrest Holsteins, Adamsville, Pa., at the Pittsburgh kickoff event. “As a dairy farmer, I’m proud to produce a product that is made available through the Summer Meals program so no child has to go without good nutrition when school is out.” 

Summer Meals are free to children 18 years and under. No registration or paperwork is required. USDA’s site finder is available here.  

So far this summer, other dairy farmers and promoters who participated in kickoff events include New York State Associate Dairy Ambassador Olivia Maslyn and her father Pete Maslyn of Hemdale Farms, Seneca Falls, N.Y., in Clyde, N.Y.; Kacie Hershey of Ar-Joy Farms, Cochranville, Pa., in Philadelphia; Upper Chesapeake Dairy Princess Allyson Knott in Baltimore; and ADA North East board member Norm Gustafson of Gustafson Farms, Frewsburg, N.Y., in Sinclairsville, N.Y. 

For more information, contact American Dairy Association North East at 315.472.9143. 

About American Dairy Association North East

American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) is the dairy farmer-funded organization funded by participating dairy farmer’s checkoff investment to build demand and sales for milk and dairy foods throughout the local region. Representing more than 8,300 dairy farm families in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, ADA North East develops and implements local programs to drive milk and dairy sales at retail outlets and in schools. The organization also conducts consumer education about dairy through events, traditional and social media, and in collaboration with health professionals through National Dairy Council®. ADA North East works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™, the national dairy checkoff organization, to support nutrition research, national partnerships and developing export markets for dairy to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the region. For more information, visit www.AmericanDairy.com.