For a growing child, calcium is essential for the proper development of healthy bones and teeth. It also plays a key role in maintaining normal blood pressure and muscle contractions (e.g the heartbeat). Additionally, a woman who is breastfeeding needs 200 more calories per day than she did during pregnancy, and it is important that the calories come from nutritious foods such as milk.
Thanks to the generous support of over 500 dairy farmers throughout the province, fresh milk is donated to local food banks every month. On average, this represents over one million litres of milk every year. This process is made possible by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO), The Ontario Dairy Council (ODC), and the Ontario Milk Transport Association (OMTA).
Organizations such as Farm Credit Canada, have also taken a leadership role in contributing to this program. This program helps food banks offer more nutritionally balanced hampers to those in need and ensures that growing children and nursing mothers are receiving the nutritional requirements that they need in order to maintain a healthy diet.
