Milk Donations to TN Food Bank Closing Hunger Gap
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2020
Contact:
Rebecca Egsieker
770-842-2046
regsieker@thedairyalliance.com
From left to right, dairy farmer Deborah Boyd, dairy farmer Sam Craun, Mayfield Dairy’s Shawn McGuire, Second Harvest Executive Director Elaine Streno and TN Department of Agriculture’s Tom Womack.
Milk purchasing initiative brings nutrient-dense fluid milk to the community’s food insecure.
MARYVILLE, TN (June 18, 2020) — During these unprecedented times, it’simportant to ensure local families in need have milk on their table, which isone of the most requested, yet least donated items at food banks. Now,Tennesseans who struggle to buy nutritious foods for their families will havegreater access to fresh Tennessee-produced milk thanks to a $20,000 purchasinginitiative to The Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, which serves 18counties in East Tennessee.
"Weare so grateful for the Tennessee Dairy Promotion Committee, The DairyAlliance, the Randy Davis Memorial Milk Fund and Mayfield Dairy for theirsupport of Second Harvest during these uncertain times,” Elaine Streno,Executive Director of The Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee said. “Withouttheir contribution, fresh milk would not be an option for thousands of EastTennessee families. It is such a treat to offer milk as an option for ouragencies to have in their pantries. We cannot say thank you enough for thisgenerous gift!"
Throughthe Tennessee Dairy Promotion Committee, Second Harvest, The Randy DavisMemorial Milk Fund, Mayfield Dairy and others, $20,000 willgo towards purchasing and donating half gallons of fluid milk toTennessee’s food banks, ensuring more families in the community have access tofresh milk.
“It’s so special to see milk go from my own farm to Mayfield and then on to those in need,” said dairy farmer Sam Craun. “The amount of support from Mayfield, the Tennessee Dairy Promotion Committee and the local community has been tremendous. I appreciate the Loudon High School class of 1977 for purchasing the truckload of school milk when the pandemic first hit.”
TheTennessee Dairy Promotion Committee is proud to help provide fresh milk tofamilies in this time of need while building strong relationships between the localfood banks and producers that will sustain future purchases of real milk.
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About Second Harvest Food Bank ofEast Tennessee
Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee, a member of Feeding America, has worked to compassionately feed the hungry since 1982. In FY19, Second Harvest distributed 20 million pounds of food across 18 East Tennessee counties. Through feeding programs and 550+ nonprofit partners, Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee provides food to more than 143,000 children, adults and seniors each month. For more information, please visit secondharvestetn.org.
About the Tennessee Dairy PromotionCommittee
The Tennessee Dairy PromotionCommittee is comprised of 11 dairy farmer members that oversee farmerfunded promotion of milk and milk products across the state ofTennessee.