Southern Wisconsin faces more hunger-related issues than a lot of people realize, says Kris Tazelaar, Communications Manager at Second Harvest Food Bank. Second Harvest Food Bank, located in Madison, works to provide nutrient-rich food to those in need. Milk, while very rich in nutrients, is not often donated, so Second Harvest began the Adopt-a-Cow program a year and a half ago to allow people to donate money to provide milk. Partnered with Sassy Cow Creamery, Second Harvest has six cows available for “adoption”. Donors get to read the bios of the cows and choose one to put their donation towards, and in return, they will receive an adoption certificate of their chosen bovine.
Listen to Bobbi Jo’s interview below.
June Dairy month is when Adopt-a-Cow sees the most donations, but the fundraiser goes all year. It began a year and a half ago with a grant from the the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Tazelaar says that with the help of Dairy Carrie, the program was able to reach to the public eye and take off. Now the project can go beyond the grant money and be self-sustainable.
1 in 5 kids and 1 in 9 people in general are considered food insecure in Southern Wisconsin, according to Tazelaar. The program hopes to lessen that one dollar at a time. June Dairy Month alone raised $22,000. That allows them to buy over 9,500 gallons of milk. That amount is triple of what they typically raise in a given year. You can make your donation at givedairy.com
