Dairy farmers donating milk, money to Ontario food banks

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Published April 28, 2020 at 10:06 pm

The Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) will be donating $100,000 and 200,000 litres of milk to Feed Ontario, formerly the Ontario Association of Food Banks.

The Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) will be donating $100,000 and 200,000 litres of milk to Feed Ontario, formerly the Ontario Association of Food Banks.

This is in addition to the DFO’s annual donation of more than 1 million litres, between the DFO and their partners at the Ontario Dairy Council (ODC) and the Ontario Milk Transport Association (OMTA).

“Dairy Farmers of Ontario have been incredibly dedicated partners for 25 years now, consistently donating milk to food banks in communities throughout the province,” Carolyn Stewart, Executive Director of Feed Ontario, said in a news release.

“The annual support of milk that is donated by dairy farmers, transported by milk transporters, and processed and packaged by dairy processors (Gay Lea Foods, Saputo, Agropur, Lactalis, Reid’s, Kawartha, Farquhar, Organic Meadow), has always ensured that food bank facilities across Ontario have a steady inventory of dairy available for those that rely on our help,” she continued.

According to Feed Ontario’s latest Hunger Report, 510,438–including adults, children, and seniors–accessed food banks in Ontario last year, which is an increase of 8,848.

This means even before the pandemic started, food banks in Ontario have seen an increase in demand.

“As dairy farmers, we put great importance on feeding and supporting the communities where we live and work, so for the past 25 years it has always been a natural fit to support food banks through Feed Ontario,” says Murray Sherk, Chair of the DFO said in the same release.

“We’re proud that residents in need across Ontario can always rely on access to the highest quality dairy thanks to the ongoing contributions we can make alongside all of our partners at the ODC and OMTA,” he continued.

Those who wish to help support Feed Ontario may do so by providing food donations to fire stations near their local food banks or providing monetary donations online.

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