The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB), funded by the Dairy Farm Families of Wisconsin, coordinated a state-wide effort with Wisconsin cheesemakers to send over 17,000 pounds of cheese to Houston to provide nutritious food for those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
“We are deeply saddened by the devastation facing Texas residents in the wake of Hurricane Harvey,” says Suzanne Fanning, WMMB VP of Marketing Communications. “Our Wisconsin cheesemakers and dairy farmers are inherently focused on helping others so we offered them a way to get involved. Their response to our call for donations was overwhelming – we were initially hoping to send 200 pounds of cheese, but the donations kept pouring in – totaling over 17,000 pounds!”
On Friday, September 1, WMMB employees, cheese company employees and dairy farmers, packed a delivery truck in Madison with more than 17,000 pounds of smoked string cheese, cheese curds, muenster, parmesan, classic cheddar and more. The shipment also included 300 pounds of butter.
The delivery is expected to arrive at the Houston Food Bank this week. The Houston Food Bank is the nation’s largest food bank with distribution to its network of nearly 600 hunger relief charities in 18 Southeast Texas counties. Shipping and logistics support is being provided by Independent Procurement Alliance Program (IPAP), based in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Nearly 26 cheese companies from across the dairy state were involved in the relief effort. Participating companies include Agropur, Inc., Arena Cheese Inc., BelGioioso Cheese, Inc., Burnett Dairy Cooperative, Carr Valley Cheese Company Inc., Chula Vista Cheese Company, Decatur Dairy, Inc., Cow Candy, Ellsworth Co-op Creamery, Emmi Roth USA, Foremost Farms USA Cooperative, Grande Cheese, Grassland Dairy Products, Inc., LaClare Family Creamery, Marieke Gouda, Nasonville Dairy, Odyssey Feta, Pine River Pre-Pack Inc., Ponderosa Dairy Products, Sartori Company, Schreiber Foods, Inc., Swiss Valley Farms Co-op, Vern’s Cheese, Inc., Widmer’s Cheese Cellars, Winona Foods, and Zimmerman Cheese.
Meanwhile, many restaurants and food industry majors too are pitching in, in various ways to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Restaurants in New York City are making substantial contributions from their sales of the day to relief funds for Harvey, while companies like McDonald’s Corporation and PepsiCo are contributing $1 million to American Red Cross to help in rescue and relief efforts.
Featured Image: WMMB’s Social Media Specialist Lizzy Schultz and Director of Retail Programs Kirk Scott help pack the delivery truck for Houston.
Monisha Awasthi
Monisha is culture's Digital Editor. A mediaperson and a trained chef, when Monisha is not busy getting her daily dose of oxygen on social media, you'll find her developing new flavors in her suburban kitchen. Her favorite cheese: Pecorino Toscano
