SANDPOINT — The recent Give-A-Gallon promotion, held throughout North Idaho and Eastern Washington during Dairy Month in June, raised 6,124 gallons of milk for families in need.
Second Harvest teamed up with Dairy Farmers of Washington for the promotion in all of the regions Yoke’s and Safeway/Albertson’s stores.
«The milk purchased by people in Sandpoint will be distributed to people in need in Sandpoint through our partner agencies,» said Julie Humphreys, community relations manager with Second Harvest. «Second Harvest’s commitment is that food raised in a particular community stays in that community.»
Humphreys was unsure exactly when the milk will get to the food banks in each community, but said it will be done in a «timely manner» as the organizers finish the tallies for how much milk goes where.
«We are super grateful for promotions like this, especially in the summer months when kids are not getting those servings of milk at school,» Humphreys said. «So a promotion like Give-A-Gallon that brings in hundreds of gallons of milk, just brings more into the system that we can get back out to our partner agencies and get into the hands of families in need.»
National Dairy Council recommends two to three servings — each serving is about a cup — of dairy a day for both adults and children, and at least one of those servings should come from fluid milk, said Washington Dairy Ambassador Ashley Hanson, who is serving as an intern at Second Harvest.
Whether it is 1 percent, 2 percent, or whole milk, she said, kids especially need the protein, calcium and other nutrients in milk.
«I don’t think people realize how much protein is in milk,» Hanson said. «Milk is a great source of protein and calcium. And also vitamins, like A, D, E, and K, they are in milk as well, so that’s why it’s so important for kids and senior citizens to have dairy in their diet.»
The reason it is so important to know those numbers when distributing food to neighbors in need, Hanson said, is because if everyone was getting two or three servings of dairy each day, one person would go through 68 gallons of milk per year. That is if they drinking two glasses of milk, using it on their cereal or in cooking meals, she said.
«Food banks, doing the best they can working with donors, can only get about one gallon of milk out per person, per year,» Hanson said. «So there is a 67-gallon gap between what people can get through food banks and what they need. Especially for our kids, it’s really important that we know that. What the Give-A-Gallon promotion aims to do is try to fill that gap.»
In Bonner County, Second Harvest provides food to the Bonner Community Food Bank, Clark Fork Food Bank, Kinderhaven, Priest Lake Food Pantry, Priest River Food Bank, Senior Hospitality Center, West Bonner County Food Bank and the Second Harvest Mobile Food Bank. In 2016, Second Harvest provided 585,988 pounds of food to Bonner County families and individuals in need. The Bonner Community Food Bank alone received 366,313 pounds from Second Harvest last year.
Besides getting food at their local food banks, Bonner County residents can get food from the mobile markets this summer at the following times and locations:
Sandpoint — 11 a.m.-1 p.m. July 20 at Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1900 Pine St. Clark Fork — 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 8 at Clark Fork High School, 121 E. Fourth Ave. Sandpoint — 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Aug. 10 at First Lutheran Church, 526 S. Olive Ave.
Source: Bonner County Daily Bee
Link: http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/front_page_slider/20170705/drive_nets_6k_gallons_of_milk
