On May 8, USDA said it approved $1.2 billion in contracts to support American producers and communities in need through the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

Lifeway Foods, a Morton Grove, Ill.-based supplier of kefir fermented dairy and probiotic plant-based products to support the microbiome, said it is slated to air a new commercial celebrating those who have worked tirelessly the last eight weeks to help keep America moving forward.

Two brands of Danone North America, based in White Plains, N.Y., and Broomfield, Colo., launched promotions designed to celebrate moms during a Mother’s Day that will take place amid the coronavirus pandemic.

More than a third of food and beverage companies surveyed between April 30 and May 4 — 39% — said they believe it will take seven months or longer to get their business back on track considering current COVID-19-related challenges, according to a May 6, 2020, Clear Seas Research report titled “Food & Beverage Manufacturing Industry, Industry Perspective on the Challenges of Today.”

To add some light to remote workers’ lives during the COVID-19 crisis, Light + Fit — a brand of White Plains, N.Y.- and Broomfield, Colo.-based Danone North America — said it teamed up with Julianne Hough and her fitness platform, KINRGY, to launch a new app called Working Well.

In a May 6 letter to Wisconsin Dairy Product Association (WDPA) members, WDPA Executive Director Brad Legreid said the association’s board decided to reschedule the 2020 Dairy Symposium because of the coronavirus crisis.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets is coordinating an effort to recover raw milk from being disposed while creating a new, temporary food supply for the Vermont Foodbank.

The Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA), Tillamook, Ore., said its farmer-owners have committed $4 million to a comprehensive COVID-19 relief plan to help its employees, the communities in which the company operates, and industry partners respond to and recover from burdens created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three years after the acquisition of WhiteWave, Paris-based Danone said it is moving into a new chapter for its Essential Dairy and Plant-based (EDP) business to capture greater growth and value.