Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket company by revenue, is buying 200,000 gallons of fluid milk from struggling dairy farmers to distribute to Feeding America food banks across the country through the end of August, Mary Ellen Shoup reports for Food Navigator. The chain will also donate an additional 50,000 gallons of milk per month to local food banks and community organizations.
Through its Dairy Rescue Program, Kroger will process the milk through its facilities in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Texas, Shoup reports. A company spokesperson said the program benefits the hungry, but also helps dairy farmers. Schools are one of the largest purchasers of fluid milk, and dairy farmers are having a hard time finding new buyers now that schools have essentially closed down (though many school meal nutrition programs are still running).
Grocery chain Publix announced a similar action last week, saying it will buy and donate 43,500 gallons of milk from southeastern dairy farmers in the first week of the initiative, Shoup reports.
"As the covid-19 crisis wages on, dairy losses will outpace those for cattle, oil seeds, and feed grain, with the average net cash income loss for a dairy farm projected to be $345,000, according to the National Milk Producers Federation," Shroup reports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has promised up to $2.9 billion in payments to dairy producers, plus $1 billion in dairy-product purchases for food banks and similar organizations.
However, the promised aid may not be enough, Shoup reports: "As outlined by NMPF in a May 1 blog post, the organization is concerned that the USDA's loss calculations don't reflect the full damage dairy will feel going forward, and that a product-purchase program may not be able to buy enough dairy to help bolster markets or meet unprecedented food-bank demands."
Through its Dairy Rescue Program, Kroger will process the milk through its facilities in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Texas, Shoup reports. A company spokesperson said the program benefits the hungry, but also helps dairy farmers. Schools are one of the largest purchasers of fluid milk, and dairy farmers are having a hard time finding new buyers now that schools have essentially closed down (though many school meal nutrition programs are still running).
Grocery chain Publix announced a similar action last week, saying it will buy and donate 43,500 gallons of milk from southeastern dairy farmers in the first week of the initiative, Shoup reports.
"As the covid-19 crisis wages on, dairy losses will outpace those for cattle, oil seeds, and feed grain, with the average net cash income loss for a dairy farm projected to be $345,000, according to the National Milk Producers Federation," Shroup reports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has promised up to $2.9 billion in payments to dairy producers, plus $1 billion in dairy-product purchases for food banks and similar organizations.
However, the promised aid may not be enough, Shoup reports: "As outlined by NMPF in a May 1 blog post, the organization is concerned that the USDA's loss calculations don't reflect the full damage dairy will feel going forward, and that a product-purchase program may not be able to buy enough dairy to help bolster markets or meet unprecedented food-bank demands."
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