Giving to your Food Bank with a Dairy Good Donation: #10gallonchallenge
It's back to school time for many of us. And the first day of school and every day, for that matter, starts with a healthy (hopefully) breakfast. But for many parents, they struggle to feed their family. One in five children goes hungry right here in America. A great way to help fight hunger in your community is by donating to your local food bank. So that's why I absolutely love the 10 Gallon Challenge! The idea behind the #10gallonchallenge is to donate ten gallons of milk to your local food bank. By helping provide for those in your community with the donation of milk you are also helping your local dairy farmers. Pretty much a win-win if you ask me.
Donating Milk
I first heard about this challenge from Janice Person over at JP loves Cotton. She donated ten gallons of milk along with some shelf stable protein because of a need at her local food bank. I followed her lead on this challenge by talking with my local food bank, Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico, before making the donation. I wanted to be sure they had the refrigerator space for the milk and to see what else they might need. Turns out they need a lot! The staff told me they are out of everything. So with back to school upon us, I figured what goes together better with milk than cereal and oatmeal. The girls and I cleared the shelf of Fairlife (sorry if you came in after us!) and grabbed some cereal and oatmeal to drop off too.You might be asking yourself, why donate milk? Well here are some fast facts I was sent by Cargill:On average, people served by food banks receive the equivalent of less than 1 gallon per person per year. Even though milk is one of the most requested items, it’s one of the least donated because of its perishability.The US dairy community has set a goal of providing 50 million servings of milk through The Great American Milk Drive by 2020.
Other Ways to Get Involved
Maybe donating ten gallons of milk isn't in your budget this month. Well, there are other ways to get involved that don't cost you a thing. Cargill has launched their new HerdFirst™ Facebook frame to help donate milk to the Great American Milk drive. To celebrate their new line of calf and heifer feed, they are extending a donation to The Great American Milk Drive that will be used to purchase milk for food banks. For every person who shares how they care for dairy animals using the HerdFirst Facebook frame and #putyourherdfirst, Cargill will donate 3 servings of milk, one child’s recommended daily amount, to The Great American Milk Drive. We have from now until Oct. 31 to use the frame and hashtag to help donate up to 80,000 servings. You can help spread the word by sharing and getting people to post on Facebook!I am using the frame on New Mexico Milkmaid if you want to add it to your page too! And don't forget #putyourherdfirst. If you have questions about how to donate or if you have suggestions of other ways to get involved, leave me a comment below!Udderly,New Mexico Milkmaid
