Dairy. It does a Dublin good.

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  • The Love Basket organizers Ray and Barbara Sissom pose with local dairy owner Linda Beukeboom by a refrigerated case and whole milk donated so that patrons of the food pantry can get the nutrition that the beverage provides. | submitted photo
    The Love Basket organizers Ray and Barbara Sissom pose with local dairy owner Linda Beukeboom by a refrigerated case and whole milk donated so that patrons of the food pantry can get the nutrition that the beverage provides. | submitted photo
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Local dairies have are working to make sure those in need get proper nutrition after donations of refrigerated cases an milk were made to two local food banks including Dublin’s The Love Basket,

To help get more milk and dairy foods to those who need it, local dairy farmers helped provide refrigerated coolers to Grace Place Ministry in Stephenville and The Love Basket food pantry in Dublin. Donations of whole milk were also made to provide nutritious dairy to the communities.

Milk is one of the most requested but least donated items to food banks, and lack of refrigeration makes it difficult for food pantries to provide it. This need has also increased, with 17 million more Americans now relying on the same network of food banks and pantries due to the economic effects of COVID-19. According to Lisa Scroggins, executive director of Erath County United Way, local service organizations have worked to find ways to fill the gap.

“Having the space necessary to meet this growing need quickly became an issue,” said Scroggins. “This was especially true when small food pantries found their small, older refrigerators and coolers overtaxed and overflowing.”

Before receiving the donated coolers, Grace Place Ministry and The Love Basket were limited in the amount of fresh dairy foods they could provide due to space. Now both pantries can easily refrigerate and store enough milk, cheese and yogurt to serve the nearly 5,000 families that use these local resources on a yearly basis.

“Fresh dairy products provide the vitamins and minerals our community needs, and having the coolers will allow the pantries to serve the growing number of families requiring assistance,” said Scroggins.

Local dairy farmers Nova Schouten, Angela Wood and Linda Beukeboom assisted with the donations of whole milk to Grace Place Ministry and The Love Basket.

“Dairy farmers are part of the fabric of the Stephenville-Dublin area,” said Schouten. “This is our home and we’re proud to do our part supporting the community. I count it as a blessing to be a link in the chain providing quality milk to help feed our neighbors.”

Dairy farmers have a long history of providing nutrition and fighting hunger within their local communities. The partnership between Feeding America and the dairy community has increased the availability of dairy foods in food banks nationwide by 56% since 2016.

“It’s important to give back because my family lives in this community and most of my employees also live here,” said Beukeboom. “This is where we live, where we work –and we all need to stand together to support.”

For more on dairy farmers’ response to COVID-19, visit DairyMAX.org/covid-19-response.

—submitted