Oct. 5 2017 11:57 AM

Fundraising Efforts Generate Nearly $15,000 to Benefit Feeding America’s Hurricane Relief Efforts, Along With More than $50,000 in Dairy Product Donations

The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

In honor of Hunger Action Month, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) members and employees celebrated the company’s core value of community by raising nearly $15,000 to benefit Feeding America’s Hurricane relief efforts. Additionally, several DFA brands are providing donations, totaling more than $50,000 worth of dairy products, to help support hurricane victims in Miami and Houston.

Money was raised through member and employee monetary donations to the DFA Cares Foundation online giving site. The DFA Cares Foundation also made a dollar-for-dollar match for every contribution, up to $5,000.

Several DFA brands and members also are making donations to benefit hurricane victims, including:

  • More than 4,300 cases of Sportsman Shake, a dairy-based protein shake, was sent to Convoy of Hope, an international, humanitarian-relief organization based in Springfield, Mo., to assist in hurricane relief efforts;
  • La Vaquita, the top-selling brand of Hispanic cheese in Houston, is donating 6,000, eight-ounce packages of queso fresco cheese to a local food bank in the Houston, Texas, area;
  • Plugrá butter donated 1,600 pounds of butter to the French Pastry School in Chicago, Ill., which then baked 60,000 cookies to support hurricane victims in Miami and Houston;
  • Sugar Branch Farms, a DFA family farm in Pennsylvania, collected two trailers and a semi-truck load of donations from their local community and carried the load to Houston to help hurricane victims.

“Hunger is a serious issue today and as a Cooperative, we value our ability to help feed those in need,” said Ron Shelton, Chairman, DFA Cares Foundation and DFA Board Member. “With farmer members in Texas and Florida, we are committed to helping give back in these local communities and support relief efforts.”

The DFA Cares Foundation was established in 2005 as a nonprofit charitable organization. Through the DFA Cares Foundation, DFA provides disaster relief via product and monetary donations, invests in the future of the industry with scholarships to students pursuing careers in dairy and contributes dairy food and products for those in need.

Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a national dairy marketing cooperative that serves and is owned by more than 13,000 members on nearly 8,000 farms in 48 states. DFA also is one of the country’s most diversified manufacturers of dairy products, food components and ingredients, and is a leader in formulating and packaging shelf-stable dairy products. For more information, call 1-888-DFA-MILK (332-6455) or visit www.dfamilk.com.