Food King, Gandy’s Dairy and Kemp’s Ice Cream donated and delivered 18,400 “Giving Cow” milks June 16 to the Lubbock Meals on Wheels and its recipients.
Lubbock Meals on Wheels prepares, packages and delivers hot meals to more than 800 vulnerable people each weekday. Between the rising cost of food and packaging, along with ongoing food and supply shortages, the cost to provide these daily meals has increased by more than 15 percent in the past six months.
Beginning June 16, Lubbock Meals on Wheels’ volunteers began delivering these specially designed, shelf-stable milks to its clients. The milk delivery will continue throughout the summer.
“Giving back to our local communities is important to us at Kemps and Gandy’s Dairy,” said Rachel Kyllo, a spokesperson for both brands. “Our Giving Cow milks not only provide valuable nutrition and are shelf-stable, but they don’t require cold storage, which we know can sometimes be limited at smaller food pantries and shelters.”
The single-serve, 8 ounce packs of ultra-high temperature pasteurized milk have a shelf life of up to 12 months. Typically, fresh milk has a shelf life of 20 days from processing. The Giving Cow milks are designed for food pantries and meal programs to fight hunger and will not be sold in stores.
“Lubbock Meals on Wheels is honored, and extremely grateful, to receive this incredibly generous donation of shelf-stable milk from Food King, Gandy’s Dairy and Kemps Ice Cream,” said Lisa Gilliland, executive director of Lubbock Meals on Wheels.
“With rising food costs and supply issues impacting our budget and meal production, support from our community is more crucial than ever to continue to feed our homebound neighbors. We thank these great businesses for believing in our mission and helping so many seniors stay at home, well-fed and independent.”
Food King is owned and operated by Lowe’s Market Inc., a family-owned supermarket chain. The Lowe family has based operations in their hometown of Littlefield, Texas. The first grocery store was opened in 1963 and there are now 147 store locations in five states.
Lubbock Meals on Wheels is a private, nonprofit organization that prepares and delivers hot meals to those who are homebound, elderly or disabled. With the help of more than 1,600 volunteers, 216,000 meals were delivered in 2021. The nonprofit is delivering on 70 different routes, serving Lubbock and Wolfforth.
For more information, visit lubbockmealsonwheels.org.
