Hoffman Family Farm in Shinglehouse, Pa. and Barney
Farms of Wellsville helped out Friday with the last Dairy Drive-Through
From the school crosswalk on the arterial to the top of Williams
Avenue and partway down Rauber Street cars were lined up with people hoping to
get some free dairy products Friday.
The last Dairy Drive-Through to be organized by Cornell
Cooperative Extension, Barney and Hoffman’s dairies and members of the 4-H Project
Clover Aid during this round of the Covid-19 pandemic took place at the
Wellsville Elementary School. Early birds already were lined up halfway up
Williams Ave. from the entrance to the
school. The event was due to start at 2 p.m. but the line started forming at 1
p.m.
They gave away 350 gallons of milk and bags filled with sour
cream, cottage cheese, yogurt and more, donated by local dairies and dairy
industries.
Lynn Bliven, agricultural issues leader for the county’s
office of Cornell Cooperative Extension explained why Wellsville’s was the last
drive through, “changes in the weather, not as much to give away, and there are
more places giving out food,” she said, adding, “The governor’s Nourish New
York is a statewide program and they are now providing fruit, vegetables and
other fresh produce. There are also more food pantries open.”
Should there be a second wave of the Coronavirus in the late
summer or fall, Bliven said she isn’t sure if the dairy drive-throughs would
return because alternate programs are in place and should be able to quickly
reorganize.
Totally the four drive-throughs have given away 1,100
gallons milk, Bliven calculated.
As the need to provide dairy products to the community
lessens, Lisa Reynolds, STEM and Ag. Education leader said the focus of their
efforts will now turn to the farmers themselves. “As the weather changes and
the farmers are getting busy plowing and planting it is difficult for them to
get out and purchase products, so we’re going to start providing food boxes to
them. We’ll be delivering the boxes directly to them. It is like a little love
note, letting them know how much we appreciate them and what they do.”
She added that any donations made to the Dairy Drive-Through
will be used to help the farmers.
To donate to the farmers, make out a check payable to
CCE-Allegany. Write, “Dairy Drive" on memo line and mailed it to: CCE
Allegany County, 5435A County Road 48, Belmont, N.Y., 14813. One hundred
percent of all monetary donations will go back into the drive to provide
products for distribution to local farms.
