Milk is one of the most requested items at food banks, yet it is rarely donated.
As such, families experiencing food insecurity in communities across the Commonwealth are missing out on the essential nutrients milk provides. Through the Fill a Glass with Hope® charitable milk program, Feeding Pennsylvania and industry partners are working to change those circumstances by raising awareness about food insecurity and by connecting food banks with local milk suppliers.
Fill a Glass with Hope, the nation’s first charitable milk program, is a partnership formed among Feeding Pennsylvania and our member food banks, the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, and American Dairy Association North East that raises funds to enable our member food banks to purchase fresh milk directly from their local dairies in order to distribute it to Pennsylvanians experiencing food insecurity.
First piloted by the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in 2015, Fill a Glass with Hope launched statewide at the 100th PA Farm Show on January 8th, 2016. Each of our member food banks became licensed as a charitable milk sub-dealer by the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing board, thus allowing them to purchase milk from dairies at a reduced price. That reduced price is further subsidized by grants, corporate sponsors, and individual donors who share our goal in providing fresh milk to Pennsylvanians throughout the state who are facing hunger.
Thanks to our generous supporters, the program has distributed more than 36 million servings of fresh milk to Pennsylvanians facing hunger since 2015 via Feeding Pennsylvania’s network of food banks, pantries, agencies, shelters, and feeding programs.
Financial contributions made to Feeding Pennsylvania enable the purchase of milk at a discounted price to distribute to those in need as well as cover operation costs associated with distributing fresh milk. Operational costs vary across the Feeding Pennsylvania network.
