Foodshare, the regional food bank serving greater Hartford, received some serious milk money thanks to Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC and the Dairy Farm Families’ of Connecticut “Great Gallon Give” and the generosity of Stop & Shop customers. The “Great Gallon Give”, which will contribute milk donations to five local food banks, raised $5,752 for Foodshare to help meet the growing demand for milk. Currently, fresh milk and dairy products make up less than 5% of American food bank inventories, but are highly sought after by food bank clients. This week, Foodshare will deliver the milk to the doorsteps of local families in need – just in time for the holidays.
“We are thrilled to be the recipient of milk from gracious Stop & Shop customers,” said Paula Siebers, Food Donations Manager at Foodshare. “It pleases us to know that this donation will provide milk for distribution at Mobile Foodshare sites all week long, just as many children are beginning their holiday break from school. Without school meals, the milk will help to fill the hunger gap.” Foodshare also expressed thanks to Guida’s Dairy who — in response to hearing about the “Great Gallon Give” — were able to offer incredible pricing to stretch those donated dollars even further.
Stop & Shop locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island hosted the “Great Gallon Give,” October 4-20th and encouraged customers to donate $4, roughly the price of a gallon of milk, to local families in need through food banks in each state. A total of $10, 296 was raised and will be divided among food bank recipients including Foodshare, Rhode Island Community Food Bank, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, The Greater Boston Food Bank and Worcester County Food Bank.
“The ‘Great Gallon Give’ is an important way for Stop & Shop to give back to the community,” said Judi Palmer, Director of Marketing and External Communication at Stop & Shop. “This program helps put milk on the table for families in need, and we are so proud of our generous customers who have made a difference by contributing to such a great cause.”
By working closely with Stop & Shop and local food banks as partners, we were able to create a program to raise much-needed dairy donations. The dairy farmers we work for are enthusiastic about this opportunity to make nutritious milk available to more families in our region.
There’s nothing like a heart warming story like this one to get you in the holiday spirit. How will you give back this year?