Outreach is even cooler thanks to grant from multiple Michigan entities

by Jo Mayer and Paul Crandall

Stockbridge Community Outreach is rather like a revolving door—donations of food, money, clothing and household goods tend to circle in and then right out again, sometimes within minutes. But one recent donation will be sticking around for a long while—our new, grant-provided, glass-door dairy cooler. 

The cooler arrived in mid-November as part of a collaboration between several entities: the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Blue Cross Complete, and Partners for Good.

And even better, it came with a $250 check to help fill it! 

“It is so bright, easy to use and it’s on wheels, so it’s easy to move, too!” said Outreach Director Gwen Reid, who wrote the grant that landed the cooler.

“We will make good use of it, particularly on Wednesdays when we get the Pop Up food from Greater Lansing Food Bank. And it gives us a place to put other donations from area businesses who share their excess with us, like the Unadilla Store or DG Market.”

According to Reid, Outreach regularly gets a pallet full of milk on Wednesday mornings from GLFB for a weekly Pop Up Food Distribution. Outreach has often struggled for space to store dairy before handing it out in the afternoon.

“Now it will be easy to keep it cold until it’s time to go into client cars,” Reid said.

Look for United Dairy Industry handouts

Along with the refrigerator, the United Dairy Industry of Michigan sent all sorts of helpful information, including handouts about healthy eating; handy, easy-to-store recipe books; coloring books; pencils; squeezable cows; fun sunglasses; and hair ties. To help Outreach visitors make use of all these offerings, a new information area now displays these items just outside the Outreach office.

Featured below is one of the quick, simple, and kid-friendly  recipes from the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.

Recipe: Carousel-Colored Overnight Oats

Ingredients

1 (4-6 ounce) container fat-free yogurt, any flavor

1/4 cup old fashioned or quick-cooking oatmeal

1/4 cup fruit

Directions

In a container with a tight-fitting lid, mix together yogurt, oats and fruit. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours. Top with additional fruit before serving if desired.

Another handout, “Milk is Local,” highlights information about milk production in Michigan, noting that 97% of Michigan dairy farms are family owned. The handout explains that every container of milk is identified by a 5-digit code, with the first two numbers referring to the state. Michigan’s number is 26, so if the milk code starts with 26, it was bottled in Michigan.

Fun facts:

• Michigan became the 26th state on Jan. 26, 1837.
• Coming up on Jan. 11 is National Milk Day—a good day to wear any new dairy swag you find in Outreach’s display!