AMSTERDAM, N.Y. (December 4, 2024) – As demand at food pantries rises during the holiday season, donations alone can’t meet the needs of the community. As a result, AMEN Food Pantry in Amsterdam, N.Y., has been purchasing milk every week to ensure that the 750 families it serves have access to essential nutrition.

Now, thanks to multiple dairy industry organizations and $25,000 from Feeding New York, AMEN – which stands for All Ministries Embracing Need – will be able to provide its community members with milk this holiday season and beyond.

American Dairy Association North East (ADANE) helped connect AMEN Food Pantry with Feeding New York State, who is managing one of the New York Food for New York Families grants that will supply the pantry with 792 half gallons of milk every two weeks for a program that is slated to run through June. ADANE & Feeding New York State have been working in partnership over the last two years to provide refrigerated coolers to support on-site storage of perishable items, enabling the pantry to expand its offerings of dairy items.

“Milk is one of the most requested items by families visiting food banks and is often one of the least donated,” says AMEN CEO Christine Andrzejczyk, who runs the operation with her husband Karl. “On average, food banks are only able to provide the equivalent of less than one gallon of milk per person, per year. So, this grant will truly go a long way in supporting our more than 750 community members.”

“There is a dairy gap of 67 pounds per person, or approximately eight gallons of milk, missing from diets.” Says Kathleen Stress, Research Director with Feeding New York State. “Without milk in the diet, it is difficult to get the recommended essential nutrients for health, especially for children. Milk is the top source of calcium, potassium, and Vitamin D in the American diet – nutrients critical to development and growth in children.”

The milk for the program with AMEN Food Pantry comes from Schuylerville-based King Brothers Dairy, a family run dairy farm that produces, bottles and delivers the milk directly to AMEN every other Friday.

“Our family farm works hard every day to produce nutritious, wholesome milk,” said dairy farmer Jan King of King Brothers Dairy. “We take our responsibility, as all farmers do, to feed families, not only in our community but across the nation, very seriously.”

AMEN Food Pantry is open every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For those looking to support AMEN Food Pantry, donations are always accepted, especially during the holiday season. Donations of non-perishable items and checks are accepted at 105 Guy Park Ave in Amsterdam. If you would like to provide milk in your community, you can do so by donating to Fill a Glass with Hope®, a charitable program that ensures those facing hunger have access to milk’s nutrition, on the Feeding New York website.