UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Berkey Creamery, like many in the Penn State community, is lending a helping hand to those who need it most during this time of uncertainty.
The creamery, in coordination with the University’s Housing and Food Services unit, is donating dairy-related products to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, a nonprofit organization committed to reducing hunger in 27 counties across central Pennsylvania.
“The coronavirus pandemic is having a devastating impact on many people, including those in our community,” said Jim Brown, assistant manager of the Creamery. “We wanted to do our part to ease their burden and give our products to families who need help now.”
Joe Arthur, executive director of the food bank, said that over the past week, many of the food bank’s partner agencies have reported triple the number of clients. He said with record numbers of Pennsylvanians filing for unemployment, the demand on food banks is increasing significantly.
“We have packed thousands of additional Crisis Response Boxes and anticipate packing hundreds of thousands more in the coming weeks,” Arthur said. “We appreciate the safe and direct donation of food-service-quality food from Penn State, which will help us feed these families in need.”
While the food bank cannot accept food drive or personal donations of food at this time due to the risk of COVID-19, Arthur noted it would gladly accept financial contributions to aid its ongoing mission.
Brown said that while the Creamery’s retail store currently is closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, it continues to process online orders for ice cream, cheeses, spreads and specialty food items that it ships to all 48 states in the continental United States.
“We look forward to the day when we can greet our customers in person again,” Brown said. “Until then, we encourage everyone to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control on how to stay safe and healthy.”
For the latest information about the Berkey Creamery, visit its website at http://creamery.psu.edu or follow its Facebook and Twitter feeds.