PHOENIX — Shamrock Farms is encouraging the public to get involved with the Great American Milk Drive and help those in need obtain up to 10,000 servings of nutrient-rich milk with a "Like Drive" on the Shamrock Farms Facebook page now through June 30, 2014.
Hungry families are missing out on the essential nutrients supplied by milk because it's not typically donated to food banks – even though it's in demand. The Great American Milk Drive, launched earlier this month, makes it easier for Americans to lend a hand and contribute nutritious milk to food insecure families with a simple click of a mouse or text message for as little as $5. As part of the launch, Shamrock Farms helped jumpstart the program in Arizona with a 500-gallon donation to its local Feeding America Food Bank, St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance.
"We want to make it easy for all Arizonans to get involved with this effort. As Arizona's hometown dairy, we regularly support the food banks and this 'Like Drive' is one more way we can continue our mission of nourishing Arizona families." said Sandy Kelly, vice president of marketing for Shamrock Farms.
The public has multiple options for getting involved in the Great American Milk Drive, including:
- Follow the on-screen instructions to "Like" Shamrock Farms Facebook page (www.facebook.com/shamrockfarms) and Shamrock Farms will donate a serving in your honor.
- Donate online at www.milklife.com/give. When you enter your zip code, you can ensure that the milk is delivered from the farm to a local Feeding America food bank in your very own community.
- Text "milk" to 27722 to donate a gallon of milk to a local food bank.
"When every meal and food item counts, milk is one of the most important items we can provide. It is naturally nutrient-rich, with nine essential nutrients, including 8 grams of high-quality protein per serving and three of the top nutrients most likely to be missing in the American diet – calcium, vitamin D and potassium," said Jerry Brown, director of media relations for St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance.
Donations earned through Shamrock Farms' Facebook drive will benefit the St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance in Phoenix, Ariz., ranked third in the country for high child food insecurity and hunger rates higher than the national average. Of those statistics, 40 percent of households in Arizona receiving emergency food assistance have at least one person who is employed.
Facebook is not a sponsor of, or in any way associated with this program.
About Shamrock Farms
Shamrock Farms, one of the largest family-owned and -operated dairies in the U.S., produces and distributes traditional and organic farm-fresh milk, as well as whipping cream, sour cream, cottage cheese, ice cream and frozen novelties. Shamrock Farms, which has its own farm hosting both a traditional and organic herd totaling more than 10,000 cows, is a division of Shamrock Foods Company, a family-owned and -operated business founded in 1922 in Tucson, Ariz. For more information, visit www.shamrockfarms.net.
About Feeding America
Feeding America is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, we provide food to more than 37 million people through 61,000 food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit http://www.feedingamerica.org/. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FeedingAmerica or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FeedingAmerica.
Source: Shamrock Farms