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Dairy West's New Curds + Kindness Program Feeds Hungry with Surplus Dairy Products

COVID-19 Pandemic Brings Food to Those in Need

SALT LAKE CITY (May 5, 2020) — With the COVID-19 pandemic extending another month, Dairy West is launching a Curds + Kindness program that will direct surplus, nutrient-rich dairy products to those who are hungry and unable to afford groceries throughout Utah and Idaho.

“Dairy farmers want to get dairy foods into the homes of those who need them most,” said Kristi Spence, Dairy West’s senior vice president of marketing. “Because much of our local dairy foods are used in restaurants, schools and hotels, current restrictions have caused a milk surplus.

“By working with community partners, dairy companies have devised a mutually beneficial solution that each week will direct nearly 200,000 gallons of milk that would have otherwise been disposed.”

Dairy processing plants, which convert milk into dairy products, will transform milk into cheese, butter and other needed dairy foods, instead of discarding the excess.

“In an unprecedented collaboration with dairy farmers, dairy companies and local community partners, we have generated a solution that will get significant quantities of consumable dairy products to those in need,” Spence said.

Curds + Kindness will continue at least through the end of May for the nearly 5 million residents of Utah and Idaho.

“We are constantly discussing solutions to help us all, and since agriculture, including dairy farming, is at the core of our region and local economies and provides sustenance for all of us, we will continue search for ways to provide relief through this crisis,” she said. “Through a collaboration with Utah and Idaho food banks and some local school districts, dairy products will be made available at existing sites across the two states that we serve.”

This opportunity has shown how unified our dairy and broader agriculture community can be. “We have been truly humbled by the rapid support and implementation of this program and sheer amount of dairy foods that we look to move through the Curds + Kindness initiative,” said Karianne Fallow, CEO of Dairy West. “It is a testament of the power we have when we work together to solve problems and make an impact.”

Dairy West is a regional dairy promotion organization established in 2017 to represent dairy

farmers, processors, and supply chain partners in Utah and Idaho. The organization raises awareness of the importance of dairy farming, promotes the health and nutritional benefits of dairy foods, and encourages global demand for Utah, Idaho and Western U.S. dairy foods through coordinated marketing and communications efforts, nutrition counseling and research programs. Visit DairyWest.com and Unbottled.com for more information.

 

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