Stonyfield’s Gary Hirshberg Launches a New Initiative to Save Small Organic Dairy Farmers in the Northeast, but he needs consumers help!

As a vegan, you know I am not promoting drinking milk or eating cheese, but I recognize that not everyone is vegan, and I do want to support small family farms who are working the land, treating their animals humanely, sequestering carbon, building soil and feeding their communities.  If you have been reading the news lately, you probably heard about Danone, the French parent company of Horizon, cancelling the contracts of 89 small organic dairy farmers in the Northeast. On top of that, Maple Hill has cancelled 46 contracts.

This is a very scary time for these family farms, and they are facing financial peril if nothing is done to help them.
Luckily, the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership, which was just launched by Gary Hirshberg, co-founder and long-time CEO of Stonyfield, has come to the rescue, but it only works if all stakeholders join in.

Consumers are being asked to sign a pledge, linked here, to purchase one-fourth of their weekly dairy purchases from 35 brands, listed here. These brands have committed to increase their purchases of Northeast organic family farmers’ milk, which will help save the 135 at-risk farms and create a more secure environment for the region’s organic family farms going forward.

The partnership will also be asking buyers at retailers and institutions to carry more organic milk from the Northeast. So, the greater number of signatures — indicating consumers’ interest and commitment to purchase these products — the stronger their case will be. They will also be inviting restaurants, cafeterias and any other outlet that sells dairy products to become licensed partners, and to display the partnership logo at the point of sale and online, to enable easy identification by consumers.

Ask Your NY Legislators to Increase Funding for Our Farm to School Programs!

Please take 5 minutes to advocate for our farm to school priorities in the FY2023 state budget, which is being discussed right now in the New York legislature! This year the New York Grown Food for New York Kids Coalition is asking for the New York Senate and Assembly to:

1. Maintain funding for the Farm to School Reimbursement Initiative (30% Incentive) at $10 million while expanding the program to include all school meals and increasing the reimbursement schools receive
2. Increase funding for the Farm to School Grants program to $3 million
3. Raise the small purchase threshold to make local procurement easier for schools.

Below are different ways you can use your voice to strengthen New York’s farm to school programs:

• Click here to send a pre-written, customizable letter to your state representatives (they are automatically identified based on the zip code you input – no Googling required!) and share this action alert with your networks
• Post these asks to social media and tag key legislators – the attached Communications Toolkit has sample posts and graphics and a list of who to tag so you can easily and quickly copy paste everything you need
• If you want to go the extra mile or are also participating in the NYSNA Legislative Action Conference today, check out this Advocacy Toolkit which has information and tips on meeting with legislators, writing letters, and sharing your story!

Come follow me on Social Media