Burnett Dairy Cooperative (BDC), based in Grantsburg, Wisc., and its member farmers are stepping up to fight hunger by donating tens of thousands of pounds of cheese to local food pantries, schools and nonprofit organizations, including several throughout Western Wisconsin and the Twin Cities metro area.
In our local area we have committed over 25,000 pounds of cheese to Ruby’s Pantry, Grantsburg Food Shelf, the United Way and 19 area public schools serving 8000 students. Some of this cheese has already been received by the food panties and the schools will start to receive their cheese starting Thursday, April 16th.
Later this week (likely Thursday), BDC will be delivering approx. 20,000 pounds of cheese to Catholic Charities in the Twin Cities.
Burnett Dairy Cooperative and its member farmers are keeping to business as usual and donating cheese to food pantries, schools and nonprofit organizations supplying free meals. The cheese is being given to organizations based nearby the Cooperative’s Grantsburg, Wisc. headquarters, including in the Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.
“The Burnett Dairy Cooperative and our member farmers recognized an opportunity to make a difference during an extremely challenging time for our country and the dairy industry,” said Dan Dowling, CEO and president for the Burnett Dairy Cooperative. “Farmers have always been the backbone of the national food supply, so we felt a responsibility to marshal our resources—and a little ingenuity—to fight hunger in our communities by donating as much cheese as we can.”
As part of the effort, Chell Trucking (of Siren, Wisc.) is donating time and refrigerated truck space to help safely distribute the cheese to partners.
For more information about Burnett Dairy Cooperative, visit BurnettDairy.com or join the community on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter .
About the Burnett Dairy Cooperative
Burnett Dairy Cooperative is a farmer-owned cooperative based near Grantsburg, Wisc. Founded in 1896, it is one of the few remaining full-service cooperatives producing cheese today. With the guidance of its Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker®, its award-winning cheeses are Masterfully Made™ with inventive flavors and inspired quality for retail, deli, foodservice and private-label customers. Burnett Dairy Cooperative provides farmers with a full range of agricultural services needed for farm management, including agronomy services, fuels, grain, feed, animal health and nutrition services, and a General Store with farm supplies. For more information, visit BurnettDairy.com.
