According to Feeding America, one in eight Hoosiers and one in six children in Indiana are food insecure. Food pantries play a very important role in helping to bridge the hunger gap, but many don’t have refrigerators to be able to keep milk and dairy products on hand to give to those in need.
That’s why Indiana dairy farmers and American Dairy Association Indiana (ADAI) have been awarding milk refrigeration units to food pantries across the state.
“They have a grant program for food banks that a farmer can apply for,” says Elkhart County dairy farmer Richard Thomas, who is also ADAI Board President.
The program provides area food pantries with refrigeration units to help store milk and other dairy foods at proper temperatures. Indiana dairy farmers—including Thomas—have applied using the grants available to ADAI to purchase the units and make milk donations for food pantries in their areas.
“I think it’s essential that dairy is in a person’s diet regardless of how much money you have,” says Thomas. “If we can get more donations, that will help the people who can’t afford dairy products.”
“As dairy farmers, we want to ensure our milk is available to everyone. I applied for the grant to benefit the local food pantry because they didn’t have a way of keeping milk cold. We have seen firsthand how important these pantries are to local communities and know the milk coolers will make a positive impact for the pantries and their clients.”
Thomas adds that the issue of feeding those who are food insecure is one that exists every day of the year.
“It’s not just a holiday problem. It’s a year-round problem, and I know the holidays might be worse, but when the kids are not in school in the summer, a lot of times they don’t get dairy products they need,” he says.
Without those dairy products, children in need lack the critical vitamins and nutrients they need to develop and grow.
ADAI has awarded milk coolers on behalf of local dairy farmers to the following food pantries throughout Indiana:
- Neighbor to Neighbor at Winamac Nazarene Church, Tina Knebel (Pulaski County)
- Bread of Life Community Food Pantry, Wim Hulsbosch (Decatur County)
- Central Noble Food Pantry, Doug Keenan (Noble County)
- Community Action Program, Inc of Western IN, Linda Sevenhuysen (Benton County)
- Love Inc of Huntington County, DJ de Groot (Huntington County)
- English Wesleyan Church Food Pantry, Craig Lindauer (Crawford County)
- The Lord’s Pantry, Don Steinmetz and Steve Obert (Gibson County)
- Combined Community Services, Andy Fosnaugh (Kosciusko County)
- Redemption Life Church Food Bank, Julie Bommer (Franklin County)
- Middlebury Food Pantry, Richard Thomas (Elkhart County)
- Martin’s Cloak Food Pantry, Somula Schwoeppe (Perry County)
- TTR Haven over the Hilltop Food Pantry, Somula Schwoeppe (Pike County)
In addition to the dairy cooler program, ADAI works alongside Indiana’s Feeding America food banks throughout the year to help ensure their clients have access to dairy foods.
For more information, please contact Allie Rieth at 317-842-3060 or Rieth@WinnersDrinkMilk.com.
