Some grocery stores have still been limiting the amount of milk one can purchase or are not well stocked.
In our most recent blogs, Milk On My Mind covered milk dumping and the severe effects that COVID-19 has brought to dairy farms and farmers. We also covered the milk process and how milk goes from farm to fridge while being highly regulated to meet all safety standards and conditions.
However, the lack of milk in grocery stores – or the presence of limits on milk and dairy food purchases – have only exacerbated problems that dairy farms and farmers are facing.
The Process of Farm to Fridge
As we’ve recently covered, the current health crisis has provided challenges to the food supply chain. It’s important to understand that milk follows a very strict and scientific process in its journey from farm to fridge.
To sum it up simply, the milk you purchase at the store never touches human hands and is tested multiple times on its process from the farm to you. At the processing plant, raw milk is pasteurized, homogenized, and tested multiple times to ensure it is safe and delicious for you and your family. You can read more in depth about that here.
In order to maintain its freshness, milk must be delivered to stores within 48 hours. However, as you can imagine, coronavirus has not only limited where milk can be delivered such as restaurants and schools, but it has also severely disrupted how milk can be delivered. Processing plant employees and vital workers such as milk truck drivers, product drivers, and packaging workers are in short supply due to shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders.
The Supply Chain & Milk Dumping
Despite limits on milk sales or poorly stocked dairy shelves, there is a clear demand for milk and there is a surplus of it. While much of our world has been put on pause, it’s business as usual for cows. Milk is still being produced, of course, but limited resources have left it with nowhere to go but down the drain.
As a result, farmers have been left with no choice but to dump their milk as they wait for the supply chain to catch-up to these changes and limited resources.
You Can Help
There are so many amazing men, women, and families who make up the Georgia dairy industry – and now, more than ever, they need your help and support. So, how exactly can you help? You can do your part by reaching out to your grocery store. Below, we have supplied you with specific email letter templates that address a low stock of milk, milk purchasing limits, and both of these issues combined. We urge you to download one of the letter templates below to send to your local grocer if any of these issues are taking place at a store near you.
This health crisis has impacted each of our lives in many ways; however, it’s important that we work together, support one another, and champion businesses big and small. The dairy industry has nourished and fed your family with safe and wholesome milk for years, now is the time to offer them the utmost support. They need it – and they need you.