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California Dairy Students Collaborate with Local Farms to Donate Milk to Families in Need; Anthony Agueda, Megan Donaldson, Morgan Oliveira, and Nicole Morris Comment

California Dairy Students Collaborate with Local Farms to Donate Milk to Families in Need; Anthony Agueda, Megan Donaldson, Morgan Oliveira, and Nicole Morris Comment


TRACY, CA
Friday, January 10th, 2025

One in eight Californians currently struggle with food insecurity, with milk being one of the most requested but least donated items at food banks. This fall, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) worked with student dairy advocates from California State University, Chico (Chico State), California State University, Fresno (Fresno State), California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), and Modesto Junior College (MJC) to address this deficit by hosting the second annual Real California Milk Intercollegiate Give-A-Gallon Challenge.

Using 100-gallon donation commitments from the CMAB as an incentive, students in each area shared information about the need for milk and options for donating through their social media channels. Each team coordinated donations through local and campus milk drives, in person and virtually. As a part of the Real California Milk CADAIRY4GOOD program, this initiative spotlights ongoing commitment by California dairy families to increasing access to nutritious foods.

Anthony Agueda, California Dairy Farmer and Fresno State Ag Business Student“My passion has always been rooted in the dairy industry, which is why I am so motivated to get milk off of the shelves and into our communities. I’m so thankful for all of the supporters of our milk drive year after year. My favorite part is arriving to a food bank with all of our milk to drop off and seeing everyone’s faces light up,” said Anthony Agueda, California dairy farmer and Fresno State Ag Business student.

Megan Donaldson, Chico State Student and Dairy Science Club PresidentMegan Donaldson, Chico State student and Dairy Science Club president, noted, “Everyone deserves to have quality milk products to enjoy in their home, and this initiative is a wonderful way to provide that. Chico State Dairy Science Club and Chico State Organic Dairy Unit members are proud to represent this amazing industry by donating gallons of Real California Milk to those in need.”

Morgan Oliveira, Cal Poly Student and Dairy Club Secretary"Participating in this competition truly showed a new perspective on what food accessibility looks like in our community. We're extremely grateful to have participated in this challenge and are excited to bring forth new ideas to next year's competition,” said Morgan Oliveira, Cal Poly student and Dairy Club secretary.

Nicole Morris, California Dairy Farmer and Modesto Junior College Dairy Science Instructor“Over the last 4 years, MJC has donated almost 3,000 gallons of milk to Stanislaus County with this project. It is heartwarming to know that we have donated 48,000 servings of fresh, California milk to those less fortunate in the Central Valley through our efforts to promote Hunger Awareness in our community,” said Nicole Morris, California dairy farmer and MJC dairy science instructor.

The initiative raised more than 6,000 gallons of milk with donations distributed to 17 local food banks, including student pantries at Cal Poly, Chico State and Fresno State.

The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) is hosting the second annual Real California Milk Intercollegiate Give-A-Gallon Challenge

California is the nation’s leading milk producer, and makes more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. California is the second-largest producer of cheese and yogurt. California milk and dairy foods can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which means they are made with milk from the state’s dairy families using some of the most sustainable farming practices in the world.

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