Greene County’s food pantry will have no shortage of dairy products this new year.
Last month, the launch of the “Milk for Good” campaign was announced at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. This is the state’s first milk purchase program to benefit food-insecure families.
Beginning this month, each of the food bank federation’s seven regional food banks will receive 200 half-gallons of milk a week for a 24-week period. Joe Caputi of Blue Ridge Area Food Bank in Charlottesville said the USDA products will be distributed to area pantries on a need-basis, but says they usually have enough to supply each local pantry with what they need.
Feeding Greene, the county’s food pantry and a member of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, has already been receiving free USDA milk and shredded cheese. Director Rhonda Oliver expects to have these products on hand for the next few years.
“I’ve never seen a better selection of USDA items,” Oliver said. “Not only is the selection good right now but the guidelines have changed to where we can give families twice as much of each USDA item as we could in years past.”
Nearly 894,000 Virginians experience food insecurity according to Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap” report. A 2014 hunger study of food pantry clients in Virginia showed that 43 percent wanted access to more dairy products in their local pantries.
“Dairy products, and fluid milk in particular, are among the most in-demand items at our 2,000 partner agencies,” Federation of Virginia Food Banks Executive Director Eddie Oliver said in a press release. “This program will put fresh milk in the hands of families who need it most and will advance our efforts to increase availability of nutritious products on our pantry shelves.”
The “Milk for Good” campaign is an initiative of the FVFB in partnership with The Dairy Alliance, the American Dairy Association North East and the Virginia Dairymen’s Association. The program’s pilot phase is supported by a $50,000 grant from Colonial Farm Credit, Farm Credit of the Virginias and MidAtlantic Farm Credit.
Feeding Greene is located at 41A Ford Avenue in Stanardsville. The pantry is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. - noon and the third Wednesday of the month from 4-6 p.m.
