YOUR DAIRY PROMOTION AT WORK IN MICHIGAN AND INDIANA

Navigating COVID 19 with the Michigan and Indiana Dairy Checkoff Organizations

BY AMERICAN DAIRY ASSOCIATION OF INDIANA AND UNITED DAIRY INDUSTRY OF MICHIGAN

The coronavirus crisis is impacting every sector of life and is hitting the agriculture industry dramatically. During this crisis, consumers and others are asking why dairy and other commodities are being dumped or not utilized in places where there is need. The checkoff staff is laser-focused on priority areas that will divert and redistribute the milk supply to crucial areas: ensuring access to school meals, helping food banks meet growing need, convening partners within foodservice and focusing on the retail channel. Like you, our hearts sink as we watch the markets. While schools and restaurants are still feeding people, it’ s a decrease from pre-crisis levels. Below you’ll learn more about action taken by local and national dairy promotion groups, and the rest of the dairy community, to keep dairy moving fr om farm to table. Please know, your dairy checkoff staff at United Dairy Industry of Michigan (UDIM) and American Dairy Association Indiana (ADAI) continue to work hard on your behalf and alongside you during this pandemic.

Retail

Food consumption changed in early March as consumers began social distancing and spending more time at home. Total store retail sales patterns reflect this shift, with the retail dairy sales view continuing to be positive for 2020 year to date (YTD), due in part to increased cooking and baking along with the staple nature of dairy products in consumers’ diets. Products complementary to dairy or containing dairy ingredients also helped to fuel dairy sales, like cereal and frozen pizza due to their easy, family-pleasing and affordable options. While the retail picture is very positive, it is important to note that definite downturns are expected across every foodservice commercial segment and most noncommercial ones. The large sales lifts we are reporting for retail will not overcome losses in other sectors. Cheese and butter in particular rely on foodservice for at least half of their volume. Initially, there were some capacity issues as the industry shifted quickly from restaurants and schools where the majority of dairy is served, to retail sales. As plants get caught up from the initial influx of consumers hoarding milk and other essentials, please know the processors and stores are working together to fill orders and dairy cases and stores are being encouraged to remove any limitations on milk purchases. When we first learned of stores limiting milk, dairy promotion organizations in Michigan and Indiana connected with local processors to ensure the milk supply was secure and there were no disruptions. We worked with local grocers associations who then alerted their members to remove limit signs in the dairy case, while fielding information from consumers to target contacts with stores who continued to post limits. Due to the combined efforts of local and national promotion organizations, Aldi, Target and WalMart headquarters made the decision to remove the signs from their stores on April 13.

Schools

Our top priority is working with state and local partners to support programs that feed children during school closures. USDA rules for feeding school children are similar to the Summer Food Service Program and available to every child 18 and younger, which means milk must be provided. All schools are strongly encouraged to participate, and most districts are setting up hubs for meal pick up or using school buses to deliver meals to normal bus stops. Additionally, some schools are working to provide meals that will last multiple days, allowing families to stay home longer and make fewer trips. By providing shelf-stable milk or gallon and half-gallon options, schools ensure food safety remains top priority as meals are delivered.

GENYOUth set up a national campaign, “For Schools’ Sake” to provide grants to schools. The grants help purchase supplies for meal distribution and delivery to serve local families better. The grants will provide resources and equipment to ensure youth continue to receive the nutritious meals they need, including milk.

UDIM contributed funds to award grants to 12 Michigan schools.

ADAI is working through over 200 applications for grant assistance to be awarded this spring.

In close communication with the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and school districts around the state, the UDIM team provided over 12 crate milk coolers and 460 milk cooler

bags to schools who are transporting meals via bus routes to keep milk and meals cold. UDIM is running a digital campaign on MLive.com to raise awareness about the MDE program providing school meals. The digital ad directs parents to the Milk Means More blog for more information. ADAI partnered with the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) to connect schools with cooperatives to adjust the type of milk they were getting from cartons to gallons to send home with students. Hundreds of insulated bags were donated to schools without effective cooler transport around the state. Thr ough this partnership, ADAI is also hosting a series of weekly webinars focused on Food Service Directors to provide information, education and a place to share successes and ask for help online. Supported by the IDOE, hundreds of directors have participated and applied useful advice in their communities to better serve students and families.

Hunger Initiatives

As unemployment continues to increase, food banks are experiencing increased demand. Your checkoff teams connected with the food banking systems to identify unmet needs we can assist as they feed families across our states. Based on conversations with the food banks, to assist with immediate needs, UDIM allocated our matching grants for 2020 funds as follows: • For gotten Harvest, matching the

Detroit Pistons donation. This includes the money typically used as incentive for Busch’s milk drive. Partnering with the Pistons garnered over 4.2M media impressions to date. • Food Gather ers to procure dairy products other than fluid milk.

• The Food Bank Council of Michigan to provide matching milk funds for the other 4 food banks (Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, Food Bank Of Western Michigan, South Michigan Food Bank and Greater Lansing food bank).

Daycares need extra help when filling their dairy needs. With limits on milk purchases, going to multiple stores for milk wasn’t an option. The solution? ADAI has partnered with Prairie Farms, Dean Foods and Indiana Child Adult Care Feed Programs (CACFP) to make milk available, without question and without restrictions. We kicked off our weekly service on March 25th in Indianapolis at the State Fair Dairy Bar, and expanded to South Bend with over 1,500 gallons of milk donated as of April 15th.

UDIM and GenYouth worked to connect Dominos Flint franchisee with the East MI Foodbank to bring pizza to Flint area families in need. The week of April 6, 300 pizzas were provided by Dominos to three food bank locations in Flint to surprise families with a comforting cheesy pizza when they pick up supplies from the foodbank.

ADAI is r esponding to increased need at food banks in the Great Lakes region with dairy product donations. Through our partnership with MMPA, Heritage Ridge Creamery donated 1600 pounds of cheese to Second Helpings, an organization focused on providing meals to individuals and families in need. Additional cheese is also being donated to the Food Bank of Northern Indiana, an organization that provides food assistance in a six-county area in Northern Indiana. the opportunity to apply for a one-time grant to provide a food pantry in their area with a cooler to keep milk and dairy foods cold. The UDIM grant will also provide funds for the food pantry to fill the cooler with milk at the time the cooler is delivered.

Resources

On the National Milk Producers Federation website, you will find updates about COVID-19 as it relates to dairy, including resources for your employees. MilkPEP launched new videos on TV and digital platforms that focus on the industry’s commitment to getting much needed milk to Americans and the emotional role milk plays in people’s lives. Virtual Farm Tours connect consumers to dairy farmers and life on a dairy farm – without having to leave their home! Both Indiana and Michigan hosted and shared virtual farm tours through social media, and can be found: • Indiana: www.winnersdrinkmilk.com/ virtual-farm-tour/

• Michigan: www .milkmeansmore.org/ virtual-farm-tour/

THE PRECEDING INFORMATION IS AN UPDATE AS OF APRIL 23.

To get current information from your checkoff organization, contact your staff to be included on email updates and visit your state checkoff websites:

INDIANA

Allie Rieth Email: rieth@winnersdrinkmilk.com Visit: www.WinnersDrinkMilk.com

MICHIGAN

Jolene Griffin Email: jolene@milkmeansmore.org Visit: www.milkmeansmore.org