When John Jenkins, a DFA farmer-owner in Troy, Vt., decided to try his luck at
Dairy Farmers of America’s (DFA) Annual Meeting earlier this year by spinning a raffle wheel, he won an opportunity to donate to a food bank in his region — and chose
NEKCA (Northeast Kingdom Community Action).
“I wanted the community closest to me to benefit,” he says. “I feel it’s important for me to try to do my part to try to increase consumption of dairy products when I can, and especially to help those in need to access them.”
Heart of the community
Formed in 1980, NEKCA is a nonprofit with a mission to empower Vermonters to grow, prosper and thrive. The organization provides community-based activities, essential support, connections to resources and skill-building opportunities, and it also operates three food shelf locations (another word for food bank) and one food marketplace.
“We believe in each individual’s potential for positive growth and change and are committed to empowering the most vulnerable Vermonters to improve the quality of their lives,” says Casey Winterson, director of economic and community-based services at NEKCA.
This past July, John brought his son with him to hand off the funds to NEKCA. Milk is one of the top-requested but least-donated items at food banks nationwide, and the funds went toward purchasing dairy products like milk and cheese.
“I want to teach my son to take pride in what dairy farmers do every day to put great dairy products on others’ tables,” John says.
Just like NEKCA is part of the community, so too is John’s farm, Hard-Climb Farm. In operation for 30 years, with 19 years at its current location, the small family-run farm milks about 40 cows, including mostly Holsteins and some Jerseys. The farm is also well-known in the community for the small farm stand the family operates selling eggs, seasonal vegetables, maple products and other locally made products.
“Dairy and agriculture were what communities were built on 50–100 years ago,” John says. “Today, dairy is the number one agriculture industry in Vermont, and I want to do my part to ensure dairies are around for years to come and that people understand the benefit of them.”
John wasn't the only DFA farmer-owner to help his community with a donation this year. It was part of a larger effort during National Dairy Month where our
DFA Cares Foundation donated 11,000 gallons of milk to more than 150 food banks chosen by our farmer-owners across the country.
Filling a need
Over the past few years, DFA has also donated two new commercial-grade refrigerators to NEKCA’s food shelf in Newport, Vt., to help in the
fight against hunger . Since receiving the refrigerators, the food shelf has been able to keep fresh dairy, produce and eggs on-site for families in need of assistance — a luxury for food shelves.
“They have grown our ability to provide food to the community members needing it most,” Casey says. “This is in direct support of our mission and values and has enabled NEKCA to continue to be a resource in our community.”
Receiving this gift has helped NEKCA live out its values and provide its clientele with a dignified shopping experience. People can feed their families with fresh dairy products out of the new, energy-efficient refrigerators, and the savings from the new refrigerators have freed up funds for the food shelf to better serve their community — which has only increased in need.
“In the past year, due to inflation across the board, but most specifically on food, we have seen households with higher incomes coming into the food shelves and marketplace that NEKCA operates,” Casey says.
What is the DFA Cares Foundation?
As a farmer-owned
cooperative, DFA is committed to our vision of enriching communities and consumers’ lives through all the possibilities of dairy. We care deeply about the well-being of our neighbors and friends, and we’re dedicated to giving back in all the ways we can through DFA Cares.
While caring for
our communities has always been a shared value, we were moved to formalize our commitment in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region and impacted our member farms. At that time, the DFA Cares Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ran by a farmer-leader board of directors, was born.
Since then, DFA Cares has made a difference in countless lives through supporting hunger relief efforts, disaster relief, youth education through scholarships and providing veteran support.
How you can take action against hunger
September is Hunger Action Month, an annual nationwide campaign, where we come together to raise awareness about hunger in America and inspire action to help those who have difficulty accessing affordable nutrition.
We're excited to see even more inspiring actions like these from the Jenkins family and the wider DFA community, as we continue to do our part in the fight against hunger and food insecurity in the places where we live and work. If you’re interested in helping food banks keep refrigerators and shelves stocked, you can make a difference with a
donation to DFA Cares.