The Food Processing Suppliers Association and the International Dairy Foods Association announced this week that the two organizations are joining forces to highlight and strengthen two philanthropic endeavors, Defeat HungerSM and The Great American Milk Drive. With more than 46.5 million Americans currently facing hunger, these campaigns aim to make a difference by uniting at the co-located PROCESS EXPO and International Dairy Show, taking place Sept. 15-18, 2015, at Chicago’s McCormick Place. In addition to donations from organizations, trade show exhibitors and attendees are being asked to support the initiatives in order to make an even greater impact.
The Defeat HungerSM campaign is part of FPSA's Giving Back initiative. In conjunction with the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD), a food drive is conducted at PROCESS EXPO, with all donations and proceeds going to the GCFD to help fight hunger in the greater Chicago area.
“Our Defeat Hunger campaign in 2013 was wildly successful, generating meals for more than 240,000 individuals in Cook County,” said David Seckman, President and CEO of FPSA. “We are looking forward to surpassing that this year and giving back to the community and are happy to be joined this year by The Great American Milk Drive campaign. We are confident that together we can make an even more significant impact on the lives of people in need.”
Milk is one of the items most requested by Feeding America®, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, and its network of food banks, but milk is rarely donated. The Great American Milk Drive is the first national campaign designed to help deliver highly desired gallons of nutrient-rich milk to hungry families in local communities.
The Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), IDFA and the National Dairy Council (NDC) are asking exhibitors and attendees at the International Dairy Show to stand together as an industry and support The Great American Milk Drive during Feeding America’s September Hunger Action Month.
“With close to 6,000 attendees at the International Dairy Show, we have an exciting opportunity to unite as the dairy industry and truly make an impact in local communities in need of nutrient-rich milk,” said Julia Kadison, CEO, MilkPEP. “I hope every industry member will make the commitment to help achieve the industry goal and donate at least one gallon for every attendee. We’re proud of and committed to this highly relevant industry cause, and plan to match the first 1,000 gallons of milk donated at the show[1] to help kickoff this united effort.”
Since the campaign’s launch, the dairy industry has generated more than 380,000 gallons of milk – more than 6 million servings – for our nation’s food banks.
“The Great American Milk Drive program not only assists families and children facing hunger in our local communities by helping deliver nutrient-rich milk across the country to Feeding America food banks, but can also make an impact for our industry as a whole,” said Neil Moran, Senior Vice President of IDFA. “We are delighted to be partnering with The Great American Milk Drive and the Defeat Hunger campaign to show how our industries can help those in need in our communities.”
Both of these initiatives partner with Feeding America. Attendees and exhibitors will be able to make donations in advance or on site at the shows. For more information on the Defeat Hunger campaign, visit www.fpsa.org and click on the Defeat Hunger button, or contact Dolores Alonso at (703) 663-1226 or [email protected]. To donate or learn more about The Great American Milk Drive at the International Dairy Show, visit DairyShow.com/information-center/GAMD/.