Dakota Woodlands Receives Grant from Second Harvest Heartland and Midwest Dairy for Milk Cooler

​Midwest Dairy provided $95,000 in grant funding that enabled Second Harvest Heartland to purchase dairy coolers for 45 food shelves and shelters throughout Minnesota.  Dakota Woodlands (DW) received a freezer which has increased our capacity to provide families in our community with more milk, more cheese, more dairy. The grant was intended to support food shelves and shelters in the increased distribution of cow’s milk and other nutritious dairy products that are in high demand.  
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“Second Harvest Heartland was thrilled to receive this grant to help agency partners safely distribute nutritious and highly sought-after dairy products to families experiencing hunger,” said Pat Pearson, Director of Agency Relations, Second Harvest Heartland.  “We are grateful for the opportunity to have applied for the Milk 2 My Plate Agency Partner Grant Application through Second Harvest Heartland. The cooler allows us the ability to offer a larger variety of dairy products, increasing the amount of nutritional consumption by our DW community,” said Nicole Bathgate, Operations Director, Dakota Woodlands.
 
The grant covered both the cost of the refrigerator and delivery. Food shelves and shelters were able to choose from a selection of four different types of coolers to best meet the needs of their individual programs. Most of the refrigerators chosen featured glass doors to allow food shelf clients to view the products in abundance and take what they need.
 
In addition to Midwest Dairy, US Foods and Arctic Air provided generous support in the form of reduced pricing and delivery of the coolers to food shelves. Midwest Dairy™ represents 7,000 dairy farm families and works on their behalf to build dairy demand by inspiring consumer confidence in our products and production practices.
 
On any given day, one in 11 Minnesotans does not know where their next meal is coming from: kids come home to an empty fridge and seniors skip meals to pay for their medications. In so many ways, partners like Midwest Dairy make a transformational impact on our mission to end hunger and provide nutrition to people we serve.  

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