Dairy farmers know that when your neighbor needs help, you lend them a hand.  Across Oregon, our dairy farm families and processors provide support to help end hunger and create healthy communities across our state.  With the holidays approaching, we’d like to say thanks to our dairy community who continues to give back and support those in need.

Safeway / Albertsons Nourishing Neighbors 

Safeway / Albertsons Nourishing Neighbors program began in 2014 with the mission to end hunger in local communities. Since then, the charity has raised $200 million and donated millions of pounds of food to food banks and pantries. The program aims to donate one billion meals to those in need by 2030. The program also invests funds in schools and BIPOC communities across Oregon through food insecurity programs.

Rogue Creamery

Rogue Creamery continues to donate cheese through its Cheese Is Love program to the ACCESS Rogue Valley Food System Network to help end hunger in Jackson County.  For every block of Cheese Is Love cheddar that is purchased, another is donated to ACCESS and their boxes that go out to families and people in need in southern Oregon.  Check out our video on the program here.

Tillamook Creamery

Tillamook Creamery donates over 7% of its net income to community efforts each year.  One of their donations recently helped to support Friends of the Children – Portland, an organization that empowers kids with multiple systemic obstacles with mentorship and growth opportunities.  The Creamery also made a $160K donation to the Oregon Food Bank’s Community Growers Pilot, which supports BIPOC growers by purchasing their food and sending it to communities facing food insecurity.

Oregon Food Bank

Processors, like Tillamook, Darigold, and Umpqua Dairy donate milk, cheese and other dairy products to the Oregon Food Bank each year.  Last year, the Oregon Food Bank supplied food to over 1.7 million people in need with 21 regional food banks and 1,400 food assistance sites across the state.

We’re thankful for the local farmers and organizations who continue to give back and support our local communities with milk and nutritious dairy products.