‘Summer Hunger Ends Here’ Great American Milk Drive raises $17,000 to provide 6,000 gallons of milk

BY CHRISTINA MAYO
Miami Herald

Through $17,000 raised by the community, nearly 6,000 gallons of milk were donated in June to help families in our community who rely on food banks.

The recent distribution was part of the “Summer Hunger Ends Here” Great American Milk Drive and was a partnership between Feeding South Florida, MilkPEP, Sedano’s Supermarkets, Florida Dairy Farmers, and Borden Dairy. In addition to milk, some perishable and nonperishable foods were distributed to the families.

There were almost 1,000 people lined up at St. Vincent de Paul, Mother of Christ Church in Southwest Miami-Dade County when the milk distribution began. Each person was able to take home one gallon.

The program was launched to help provide nutrient-rich milk at food banks and combat hunger that, according to Feeding South Florida, impacts one-in-six Americans, including 785,040 individuals in South Florida.

Milk is at the top of the list of items most requested by food bank participants, followed by fresh fruits and vegetables. The Great American Milk Drive is the first program to help resolve the milk shortage.

Through a recent survey, Feeding America food banks discovered that 95 percent of those who need food help said they do not receive enough milk. It is one of the most requested items but the least donated.

To learn how you can help through donations of money or food, or through volunteer work, visit http://dev.feedingsouthflorida.org/ or call 954-518-1818. The group assists individuals in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties. To watch a video and learn more about the importance of milk and food donations go to https://milklife.com/give.