Butter, cheese, yoghurt and milk that should have been destined for Britain’s cafes and restaurants will now be going into the homes of some of the country’s most vulnerable families.
Thanks to new partnerships between three food charities and the UK’s largest farmer-owned dairy co-operative, Arla Foods, milk will also be provided to thousands of school children who need it most.
Free meals for hardworking nurses, doctors and staff at hospitals and food vouchers for vulnerable families across the country are part of the donations that Arla Foods will contribute to through partnerships with FareShare, Food4Heroes, and Magic Breakfast.
However, the huge charitable gesture comes just days after Arla announced a 0.9p/L cut on its on-account prices for conventional and organic milk for May 2020.
It brings the firm’s conventional milk price to 29.89p/L and organic mill to 38.93p/L from May 1.
The donation will provide enough dairy to butter four million slices of toast and enough mozzarella for 1.4 million slices of pizza.
Working with Magic Breakfast, a national charity that gives healthy breakfasts for vulnerable children, Arla will also provide enough Arla Cravendale milk for 4.8 million bowls of cereals over the next 12 weeks.
Arla has already committed to offer more than 35% of its milk produced at its site in Settle, North Yorkshire, to the Government’s care packages for those in need.
‘Dairy farmers have been severely affected’
Jonathan Dixon, vice president of Foodservice for Arla Foods UK, said: “The challenges of coronavirus are hitting the dairy industry hard with a surplus of milk now being produced on farms across the country.
“To ensure Arla milk isn’t wasted, where there are temporarily fewer foodservice outlets to sell dairy products into, we are redistributing them to where they are needed most: to those being shielded, those on the front line at our hospitals, and the children who are in need of nutritious products to help stay healthy at this time.
Whilst we are delighted to be able to provide this support in these difficult times, we do so knowing that there are many dairy farmers being severely impacted by the loss of business from foodservice companies.
“We hope that those who can afford to do so, continue to support Britain’s farming communities at this time by buying delicious dairy for their home-cooked meals.”
