Vermont Rotary Clubs join Vermont dairy recovery and food assistance effort

VT Rotary’s donate over $10K to help Vermont Foodbank food assistance efforts

Vermont Business Magazine As a result of a generous donation from Vermont Rotary Clubs across the state, Vermonters in need will continue to receive fresh dairy products from the Vermont Foodbank for weeks to come. Continuing a collaboration begun earlier this year to connect Vermont dairy assistance to Vermonters, the Foodbank will receive food donations of Vermont yogurt and butter in support of their food assistance efforts. Ten Vermont rotary clubs joined forces to raise over $10,000 dollars, adding significant financial support to the effort already in place to recover Vermont milk.

In collaboration with Dairy Farmers of America, Commonwealth Dairy LLC and Ploughgate Creamery are turning milk from Vermont dairies into yogurt and butter. Earlier this year, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture helped coordinate the original dairy recovery program began with $60,000 in funding from the Vermont Community Foundation. This generous donation covered the cost of milk, ingredients, and processing to create 48,000 cups of Green Mountain Yogurt and 11,500 gallons of Hood Dairy 2% Milk.

“When we heard about the need to recover raw milk from local Vermont dairy farms while creating a new, temporary food supply for the Vermont Foodbank, Rotarians sprang into action to help Vermont farmers, children, and food-insecure families,” said Martin Cohn, past President of the Brattleboro Rotary Club. “We hope that the collaboration shown in this project will serve as a model for other states.”

Below is the list of Vermont Rotary Clubs and members who supported this effort:

Joining the effort, Ploughgate Creamery of Waitsfield is receiving cream from Weybridge’s Monument Farms Dairy to produce 110 pounds of handmade butter per week for 4 weeks.

"I am proud to live in a state where community comes first! Thank you to the Vermont Rotary Clubs and Foodbank for organizing this amazing program,” said Marisa Mauro, owner/operator of Ploughgate Creamery.

“This is a wonderful example of how Vermonters respond in times of strife! Everyone works together to reach common goals,” said Jon Rooney of Monument Farms.

The Rotary donation also supports Commonwealth Yogurt’s continued supply of 48,000 cups of yogurt over 4 weeks. These donations will serve hundreds of people over the course of the coming weeks, providing nutritious dairy products to Vermont communities in need while preventing the waste of valuable food.

Additional support in the form of transportation of yogurt to the Vermont Foodbank will come from Cabot Cheese. Cabot will be picking up Green Mountain Creamery yogurt from the Commonwealth Dairy plant in Brattleboro and delivering it to the VT Foodbank’s Barre distribution center for the next three weeks, enabling more Vermonters to benefit from this charitable effort.

Secretary Anson Tebbetts of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture said, “This is what Vermont is all about. Neighbors helping neighbors. Thank you Rotarians, farmers and businesses. You and so many are helping those in need.”

To find out more about how you can join in the many efforts to help in your communities, visit:

• Vermont Foodbank COVID-19 Hunger Relief Fund
• Vermont Community Foundation Responding to COVID-19 in Vermont
• Dairy Farmers of America Farmers Feeding Families Fund

*May 6, 2020 Initial Announcement: Vermont Dairy Farmers, Dairy Producers and the VT Community Foundation Collaborate to Donate to the VT Foodbank

“Rotary & Foodbank” image from Left to Right:

Susan Gabree, Commonwealth Dairy Lab Tech

Carla Lineback, president, Brattleboro Rotary Club

Mary Springer, Windsor Rotary Club

Nancy Russell, Rotary District 7870 District Governor

Barbara Muench, president, Manchester Rotary Club

Sam Garland, Commonwealth Dairy Project Manager

Martin Cohn, past president, Brattleboro Rotary Club

Louisa Tripp, Rotary District 7850 Past District Governor

Jonathan Buckley, Commonwealth Dairy Filling Lead 1st Shift

Roger Allbee, vice president, Brattleboro Rotary Club

About Rotary
Rotary International brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. Rotary District 7870 consists of 60 Rotary Clubs in southern Vermont and southern New Hampshire. Rotary District 7850 consists of 43 Rotary clubs in northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Canada.

About the Vermont Community Foundation
The Vermont Community Foundation inspires giving and brings people and resources together to make a difference in Vermont. This includes helping to coordinate philanthropic response in times of crisis and challenge. The Foundation is committed to helping Vermont communities that are impacted by COVID-19 by responding to immediate needs and long-term recovery efforts. Visit www.VTCOVID19Response.org to learn more.

About the Vermont Foodbank
The Vermont Foodbank is the state's largest hunger relief organization, providing nutritious food through a network more than 300 community partners – food shelves, meal sites, senior centers, after-school programs, schools and hospitals. Food insecurity has increased dramatically as a result of the pandemic and the Vermont Foodbank and its network have been on the front lines, working to ensure that everyone has the food they need to maintain their health. Learn more at www.vtfoodbank.org.

About Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America is a national, farmer-owned dairy cooperative focusing on quality, innovation and the future of family dairies. While supporting and serving more than 13,000 family farmers, DFA works with some of the world's largest food companies to develop ingredients that satisfy their customers' cravings while staying committed to social responsibility and ethical farming. For more information, please visit dfamilk.com.

About Commonwealth Dairy, LLC
Commonwealth Dairy, LLC, owner of the Green Mountain Creamery brand, is an all-natural dairy business born in the hills of Vermont, with a mission to make delicious dairy products affordable. Using a unique blend of yogurt cultures, Commonwealth Dairy, LLC has perfected its signature Green Mountain Creamery® mild and creamy yogurts. As a committed member of the communities in which it does business, Commonwealth Dairy, LLC has donated thousands of pounds of yogurt to the Vermont Foodbank, and promotes innovation among farm and food businesses as a primary component of its corporate mission.

About Ploughgate Creamery

Ploughgate Creamery is a farmer-owned and operated by butter maker and entrepreneur, Marisa Mauro. Ploughgate Creamery has been crafting small-batch, cultured butter of the finest quality in Vermont since 2014.

About Monument Farms Dairy

Monument Farms, Inc. milks approximately 500 cows in Weybridge, VT, processes, bottles and distributes their fresh pure fluid milks throughout the Champlain Valley and Central Vermont. A family business since 1930. You must try their chocolate milk!

About Cabot

Cabot is owned by 800 farm families throughout New York & New England. We manage four plants in three states, employing over 1,000 people, who make the best dairy products on the planet. Award-winning cheeses made with love and pride in Cabot and Middlebury, Vermont and Chateaugay, NY. The best premium butter churned with care in West Springfield, Massachusetts. And in Cabot, we're also making light cheddars, flavored cheddars and rich Greek-Style Yogurt, cottage cheese and sour cream. Your purchases mean the world to our future.

Source: June 18, 2020 | Montpelier, VT – VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets