Project Spilled Milk

Help Dairy Farmers and Families in Northern California

Project Spilled Milk aims to make the best out of a bad situation—that our farmers are supported, and that food gets to people who need it. All funds raised from this campaign will be used to purchase sheep milk from our local farmers, which we’ll use to make delicious yogurt to donate to Bay Area food banks.

Covid-19 has caused widespread disruption to agricultural businesses and family farms. 50% of the US food supply is consumed in restaurants and with so many restaurants closed, the impact on artisan dairy production is substantial—Bellwether Farms’ foodservice customers have not ordered since the end of March. Simply put, our network of family sheep dairies is now producing a lot more milk than we can effectively sell.

Simultaneously, the massive unemployment throughout our economy is putting unbelievable strain on our essential hunger relief organizations. Here at Bellwether Farms, we find ourselves in a unique position to help both farmers and those in need of high-quality nutrition. That’s why we are starting Project Spilled Milk.

The Need

Restaurants, schools, and universities represent the largest bulk purchasers of dairy across the United States. Since their doors have been largely closed due to the global pandemic, many dairy farmers are finding themselves with excess milk and no one to buy it.

The graph above shows the steep decline in dairy prices related to COVID-19. Class iii milk is used to make cheese and class iv is used for butter and dried dairy products. Source.

At the same time, people across the country are losing their jobs and finding themselves in need of financial and food security. Food banks are bridging the gap caused by the increasing unemployment rate and many are struggling to meet the rising demand.

The Impact

We will pledge to dedicate one production shift each week to this effort. Project Spilled Milk has the goal of raising $50,000, which will allow us to buy the milk, ingredients, and packaging necessary to deliver 25,000 16oz containers of yogurt to food banks in Northern California.

Over 10 years ago through the artisancheesefestival, I had the privilege to take a farm tour with the Callahan’s of the wonderful bellwetherfarms. Like many farms right now, they are pivoting mindfully to find solutions towards utilizing excess harvest in the best ways possible. Check out their latest, #ProjectSpilledMilk, a community initiative aimed at supporting farmers and feeding those in need. #NoFarmsNoFood #SaveDairy #DontCryOverSpilledMilk
Today is a #Cheesehead's favorite day #NationalCheeseDay! And here in the North Bay we have a great selection of local cheeses such as; achadinha_cheese_ Co. (informative tours), bellwetherfarms who launched #ProjectSpilledMilk raising $50K to buy milk from local farmers and to turn that milk into yogurt to be donated to N CA food banks, bleatingheartcheese, bohemiancreamerycheese, clover.sonoma, cowgirlcreamery, joematoscheese Factory, marinfrenchcheese Co. (who put CA cheese on the world map with their Triple Cream Brie), nicasiovalleycheese Co., pennyroyalfarm, petalumacreamery Store which is home to Spring Hill Jersey Cheese, pointreyescheese (creator of "Bay Blue"), pugsleap Cheese (Part of White Whale Farm), raminimozzarella (makers of Buffalo Mozzarella!), redwoodhillfarm & Creamery (Thomas Rd. on the property I grew up on!), sonomacreamery (creator of my favorite snack "Cheese Crisps"), tolumafarms and tomalesfarmsteadcreamery, Two Rock Valley Goat Cheese, valleyfordcheese Co., Vella Cheese Company of CA & wmcofieldcheese makers. We love to acquire our cheesy goodness from some of our local markets like bigjohnsmarket, glenellenvillagemarket, oliversmarket, penngrovemarket, petalumamarket & sonomamarket.
Have a Cheesy Day!
We've launched #ProjectSpilledMilk with the goal of raising $50,000 to buy milk from local farmers and to turn that milk into yogurt that will be donated to Northern California food banks. Help us use surplus milk from our network of family dairies and support hungry families. Donate through link in bio
Thank you to all who have donated to #projectspilledmilk We've raised over $7000 to save resources from being wasted and turn milk into yogurt for hungry families! Check out the link in our bio to learn more about our initiative with food banks like @redwoodempirefoodbank
A BIG thank you to everyone who has donated to Project Spilled Milk! Together, we've raised over $7,800 to support local dairy farmers and communities in need. Donate today to help us reach even more people in our communities! Link in bio to learn more. #projectspilledmilk #supportfarmers #foodbanks #hungerrelief #foodrelief #foodinsecurity #donatefood #dairyfarmers #sheepsmilk #endhunger #bayareafarmers #bayareafoodbanks
Help Dairy Farmers & Families in Northern California through our soon-to-be-launched #ProjectSpilledMilk
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Project Spilled Milk aims to make the best out of a bad situation—supporting our farmers and getting food to those who need it. Our network of family sheep dairies are producing a lot more milk than they can sell, while massive unemployment throughout our nation is putting unbelievable strain on our essential hunger relief organizations. We are raising funds to purchase the overflow of sheep milk from our local farmers, which we’ll use to make delicious yogurt to donate to Bay Area food banks. Sign up through our link in bio to learn more about how to help!
We greatly appreciate each and every one of you who supported #ProjectSpilledMilk 🐑 Together, we raised over $9,000 to purchase excess milk from local farmers and turn it into yogurt for food banks and families in need in the Bay Area. Thank you for helping us make a difference and assisting those in need! @redwoodempirefoodbank @accfb @therickydavislegacyfoundation @feedyourcitychallenge @2ndharvest
We're sending out a big batch of Bellwether Farms t-shirts to folks to donated to Project Spilled Milk! Thanks everyone for your support. To get your own limited edition shirt and support dairy farmers and community members in need, donate to Project Spilled Milk today! Link in bio #projectspilledmilk #supportfarmers #foodbanks #hungerrelief #foodrelief #foodinsecurity #donatefood #dairyfarmers #sheepsmilk #endhunger #bayareafarmers #bayareafoodbanks