Milk is one of the most-requested staples at food banks, but among the least donated. On average, people served by food banks receive the equivalent of less than 1 gallon per person per year, according to the California Milk Advisory Board.
To help fill this gap and support families in need in areas affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma, California dairy farm families today launched the Seals for Good social media challenge, which will provide up to 4,000 gallons of milk to families and children struggling with hunger.
"It is important to California's dairy farm families to help ensure access for all to nutritious milk and dairy foods,” said John Talbot, CEO of California Milk Advisory Board and Real California Milk. “The need is especially acute with so many families affected by the recent hurricane. Products like cheese, butter, yogurt, cottage cheese and ice cream with the Real California Milk seal are available throughout the U.S., which makes the Seals for Good campaign an easy way for people to support the people in need with just a simple social media post."
The challenge calls on participants to post a photo of a dairy product showing the Real California Milk seal on Facebook or Instagram using the hashtag #SealsForGood, the board said. No purchase is necessary. The challenge began on Sept. 25, 2017, and runs through Dec. 31, 2017.
For each qualifying post, $5 — representing a gallon of milk — will be donated to the Great American Milk Drive (up to $20,000 total) through Feeding America to provide vouchers for fresh milk to families in need in Florida and Texas, the California Milk Advisory Board said.
"Providing fresh milk to people in need is always challenging, but it's especially difficult for food banks during times of crisis," said Nancy Curby, senior vice president of corporate partnerships and operations at Feeding America. "Feeding America is grateful for the ongoing support of the dairy industry, and it's wonderful to see our partners step up to help people when they need it most. We know that giving our network the ability to distribute fresh milk will help relieve some stress for families in disaster-affected areas as they work to rebuild."
