By Melissa Hart

 When I saw the #10GallonChallenge on social media I thought it was a brilliant idea. Buying milk and donating it to a local food pantry not only helps the store and those in need, but it moves more fluid milk out of the coolers and that is a big win for dairy farmers.

In 2020, that idea became a weekly habit as Bobby and I would donate milk to the local Salvation Army church on their food donation day. As soon as we unloaded the milk, it was handed through windows of waiting cars filled with folks in need of a boost in difficult circumstances.

When school began, Bobby suggested I take a couple of students with me to donate milk on Tuesday mornings. They needed the community service hours for an academic program and I certainly welcomed the company of some fun teenagers. I picked them up and we headed to the store. As they began loading gallons of whole milk into the cart, they paused and asked, “How much do you want us to get?” I responded, “As much as you want.”

And with that they loaded that cart to the top and we ended up safely transporting 40 gallons of milk to the Salvation Army Church.

The weekly trip that was supposed to last one month with these young ladies has turned into two months. And they say they want to do it even after they graduate in May. After we deliver the milk, we stop for a treat at the local coffee spot.

They have also taken interest in the once-a-month food distribution at the local church. Dressing in their warmest clothes, they stood in the blowing snow in February and the cold wind in March to sort out food allotments and fill the trunks of waiting cars with the essentials of life. And when they were asked to go on a delivery to a senior citizen’s home, they were eager to load up and head out.

These same students are the starters on the basketball team and work weekends at local businesses. They are leaders in school and no matter what is happening in their teenage lives, they are ready to go on Tuesday mornings to donate milk.

Some mornings they are silent. Other mornings they are bubbling over with life. Every Tuesday morning they are ready to load up and give.

Donating 40 gallons of whole milk each week may not solve world hunger, but it helps local families nourish their children while cultivating a giving attitude in three teenagers and one adult. The old slogan is especially true in this case: Milk Does a Body Good.