California Ag Network

Tag: COVID-19

  • CAL/OSHA COVID-19 Infection Prevention for Ag Employers & Employees

    California employers are required to establish and implement an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) to protect employees from all worksite hazards, including infectious diseases. This guidance contains information, recommendations, and requirements for agricultural employers on how to update their IIPPs to include preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. This guidance does not introduce any new legal obligations, but because COVID-19 is widespread in the community, most California workplaces must consider the disease a workplace hazard.

    Employee Training on COVID-19

    Agricultural employers must provide training in a way that is readily understandable by all employees. Employees should be trained on the following topics:

    • Information related to COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including:

    o   What COVID-19 is and how it is spread.

    o   Preventing the spread of COVID-19 if you are sick.

    o   Symptoms of COVID-19 and when to seek medical attention.

    • Information fromCalifornia’s COVID-19 Response Webpage for additional resources, including ones in Spanish.
    • The importance of frequent hand-washing with soap and water, including:

    o   Following CDC guidelines to wash for at least 20 seconds.

    o   When employees arrive at work and before they leave work.

    o   Before and after eating or using the toilet.

    o   After close interaction with other persons.

    o   After contacting shared surfaces or tools.

    o   Before and after wearing masks or gloves.

    o   After blowing nose or sneezing.

    • That hand sanitizer is not as effective ashand-washing but can be used as an interim measure if a hand-washing station is not immediately available.
    • Methods to avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth.
    • Coughing and sneezing etiquette, including covering a cough or sneeze with a tissue or a sleeve instead of a hand.
    • Safely using cleaners and disinfectants on surfaces and objects, which includes:

    o   Carefully following label directions.

    o   Assessing the hazards of all cleaners and disinfectants used at the worksite.

    o   Wearing personal protective equipment (such as gloves).

    o   Ensuring cleaners and disinfectants are used in a manner that does not endanger employees.

    • Limiting close contact with others as much
      as possible and maintaining safe physical distancing (see Physical Distancing information on next page).
    • The importance of not coming to work if theyhave a frequent cough, fever, or difficulty breathing, or if they live with or have had close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.
    • The employer’s plan and procedures to protect employees from COVID-19 illness.

    Procedures to Help Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 at the Worksite 

    IIPP administrators should establish and implement the following procedures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19:

    • Immediately send employees with acute respiratory illness symptoms home or to medical care as needed.
    • Establish procedures to notify local healthofficials upon learning that someone has a COVID-19 infection. These officials will help employers determine a course of action.
    • Encourage sick workers to stay home by not punishing them for missing work. Considersick leave benefits to help prevent the spread among workers who might otherwise work out of economic necessity. Educate eligible employees on other benefits they can access if symptoms, illness, or caring for an ill family member prevents them from working.
    • Make hand-washing stations more readily available and encourage their use. Employers are advised that hand-washing is compensable as nonproductive time for piece-rate workers.
    • Establish procedures to routinely clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces and objects (e.g., water containers, steering wheels, shared tools, shared work stations, door handles, seat belts, insides of toilet facilities) throughout the workday. These procedures should include:

    o   Using products that are EPA-approved for use against the virus that causes COVID-19.

    o   Providing EPA-registered disposable wipes for employees to wipe down commonly used surfaces before use.

    o   Following the manufacturer’s instructions for all cleaning and disinfection products (e.g., safety requirements, protective equipment, concentration, contact time).

    o   Ensuring there are adequate supplies to support cleaning and disinfection practices.

    Procedures to Increase Physical Distancing

    Physical distancing is an infection control measure that can stop or slow down the spread
    of an infectious disease by limiting contact between people. Safe physical distancing means maintaining a distance of at least six feet from other people. Agricultural employers should use the following physical distancing measures to stop or slow down the spread of COVID-19:

    • Physical distancing should be practiced, whether outdoors, in vehicles, or in structures.
    • Establish work practices and work stations, and adjust line speed and other processes to enable employees to maintain safe physical distancing while working.
    • Stagger break and lunch times.
    • Limit crew size by staggering work shifts or increasing the number of work shifts.
    • Provide additional seating and shade structures to allow employees to take breaks while staying at least six feet apart.
    • Encourage employees to avoid large gatherings and practice physical distancing during non-work hours. Employers who house workers are encouraged to be proactive in making physical distancing possible and totake affirmative steps to quarantine any housed worker exhibiting symptoms.
    • Establish a location for receiving regulardeliveries away from on-farm high-traffic areas and housing.

    o   Place drop-boxes or drop-off locations near the road so vehicles do not need to enter the farm.

    Health experts do not recommend the use of respirators by the general public or the general workforce for COVID-19. However, if available, employers should provide them to agricultural workers when needed to protect workers against excessive dust, Coccidioides fungus (the source of Valley Fever), or other harmful agents.

    • Create specific instructions for deliveries.

    o   Provide suppliers and customers with the location of and all the procedures to be used at the drop-off point.

    o   Create signage to easily identify drop-off points. Include contact information on the signs to assist with questions leading up to delivery and upon arrival.

    Good Sanitation Practices

    • 
Agricultural employers must ensure bathrooms and hand-washing facilities are readily accessible to all employees at all times.

    o   Restrooms must be clean and sanitary.

    o   Hand-washing facilities must be located at or near the restrooms.

    o   Soap or other suitable cleansing agent and single-use towels must be provided.

    o   Additional hand-washing supplies should be placed as close to work areas as possible to allow for frequent hand-washing.

    o   Enough time must be allowed for frequent hand-washing.

    o   Due to increased hand-washing, the employer should frequently check the supply of soap, paper towels, and toilet paper, and replenish them before they run out.

  • Western Growers Launches Leafy Green Food Safety Website

    Answering the nation’s call for enhanced food safety measures, Western Growers (WG) has developed a website to facilitate changes to the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA)-approved Leafy Green Food Safety Guidelines: www.leafygreenguidance.com. The interactive website now easily allows the public to participate in routine discussions and process amendments that will ensure continuous improvement of the leafy green food safety preventive practices.

    “As an industry leader in produce safety, Western Growers remains committed to driving the evolution of guidance for preventive food safety programs in leafy greens as well as other commodities,” said Sonia Salas, WG’s assistant vice president of food safety, science & technology. “In a time where COVID-19 is top of mind for all industries, Western Growers is committed to ensuring that the important work of improving food safety continues with broad agricultural industry engagement and complete transparency among leafy green growers. This website will ensure access to that process.”

    In 2007 following the E. coli O157:H7 spinach outbreak, WG, working with the leafy green industry, facilitated the development of written best practices for the safe production and harvest of leafy greens, currently known as the Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Production and Harvest of Lettuce and Leafy Greens (Leafy Green Guidelines). These guidelines were subsequently adopted by both the California and Arizona LGMAs as the best practices for leafy green growers selling to handlers in their states. Since its first publication, the Leafy Green Guidelines have been updated many times as new research has become available and practices have evolved. This website provides an avenue to systemically amend these best practices and allows users to easily submit comments. A new comment period opens in April 2020.

     
    In addition to simplifying the Leafy Green Food Safety Guidelines amendment process, the website also offers the following:
    • Master Calendar: calendar that outlines the comment period and deadlines for issues related to agricultural water, field sanitation, soil amendments and concentrated animal feeding operations; entire amendment process at a glance
    • LGMA Final Document: commodity-specific food safety guidelines for the production and harvest of lettuce and leafy greens
    • Leafy Green Info Sheet: document explaining how the Leafy Green Food Safety Guidelines amendment process works and the importance of continual incorporation of new science and information


     About Western Growers:
    Founded in 1926, Western Growers represents local and regional family farmers growing fresh produce in Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Our members and their workers provide half the nation’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, including half of America’s fresh organic produce. For generations we have provided variety and healthy choices to consumers. Connect with and learn more about Western Growers on our Twitter and Facebook.

  • Economic Injury Disaster Loan Applications Now Open for Ag

    The U.S. Small Business Administration began accepting new Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance applications today at 9:00 AM PST on a limited basis only, to provide relief to dairy farms and other U.S. agricultural businesses. The application is available here. 

     The Small Business Administration is encouraging all eligible agricultural businesses with 500 or fewer employees wishing to apply to begin preparing their business financial information needed for their application. During this application window, only agricultural business applications will be accepted due to limitations in funding availability and the unprecedented submission of applications already received. 

    For more information or to apply, visit this link.

    The National Milk Producers Federation has numerous EIDL resources available on its coronavirus website page, www.nmpf.org/coronavirus. Among them:

  • 2020 Strawberry Market Outlook with Rabobank

    Strawberry planted acreage in California is up YOY in 2020 from its lowest level in almost 15 years, and increased plantings in the Santa Maria producing region continue. Florida’s acreage remains flat, while strawberry plantings in Mexico continue to expand.

    Updated estimates, based on our proprietary analytical tool, show that weekly strawberry shipments will increase in 2020, especially during California peak season in May and June, bringing prices down in specific weeks, compared to observed prices in 2019. We now include estimates for the organic strawberry market. Higher yields and acreage will boost weekly shipments during spring/summer 2020. Despite general price-pressure, there are market windows with potentially more favorable opportunities in the organic space for cost-competitive firms.


    Impacts from COVID-19 are a mixed-bag for the strawberry industry. Food-service sales are in decline, while retail grocery sales have jumped. Labor availability is being negatively impacted, and remains the biggest issue.

     

    Click here to download the report

  • Andrew & Williamson/Good Farms, Rancho Guadalupe & Dynasty Farms Support Food Banks

    In one of the first agreements of its kind between California producers and a county food bank, two farms will begin providing, at a reasonable rate, produce to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, allowing it to provide additional much-needed fresh fruit and vegetables to a growing number of residents in need of assistance. This innovative pilot program assists the food banks while keeping the agricultural supply chain together which is critical to the future of food supply.

    “We are excited that our members have the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded organizations such as the Alameda County Food Bank who support initiatives like Food as Medicine. The COVID-19 pandemic has focused our efforts on building and supporting the health and wellbeing of our broader communities; ensuring the future of fresh produce plays a paramount role in our efforts. This partnership enables our food supply chain to stay intact and therefore our producers can continue to grow fresh produce at the same level,” says Kirti Mutakar, Chief Executive Officer of UnitedAg.

    “When the COVID-19 crisis hit, and the foodservice operations all came to a standstill overnight, millions of jobs were lost and with it the demand for our produce. To bring more diverse options to the foodbank, and at the same time recover our cost to grow and harvest it, creative solutions were necessary to take care of those who need it most and help keep agriculture whole,” says A.J. Cisney, General Manager of Rancho Guadalupe.

    Deliveries will begin May 5, with nearly 4,000 pounds of strawberries from Andrew & Williamson / Good Farms, Rancho Guadalupe, and over 7,000 crowns of broccoli from Dynasty Farms. These are foods that have not been regularly available at the food banks. The pilot program hopes to expand into the larger state network of food banks (California Association of Food Banks) and increase its product offerings. UnitedAg Member Farms are hopeful this concept will grow into something bigger.

    About UnitedAg

    Founded in 1980, UnitedAg is a multi-commodity member-owned agricultural trade association dedicated to providing innovative healthcare solutions for a strong and healthy agricultural industry. Our over 1,000 agriculture affiliated member organizations network and share creative ways to transform our ever-changing industry. UnitedAg strives to bring innovative health benefits and solutions to agribusiness by meeting our member’s employee health benefits needs, advocating for ag with lawmakers and helping members comply with regulations.  Based in Irvine, Calif., UnitedAg has offices in Oxnard, Corona, Salinas, Fresno and Santa Maria.

  • USDA Approves Program to Feed Kids in California

    (Washington, D.C., April 24, 2020) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced California and Connecticut have been approved to operate Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), a new program authorized by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), signed by President Trump, which provides assistance to families of children eligible for free or reduced-price meals dealing with school closures.

    Background:

    California and Connecticut will be able to operate Pandemic EBT, a supplemental food purchasing benefit to current SNAP participants and as a new EBT benefit to other eligible households to offset the cost of meals that would have otherwise been consumed at school. For the 2019-2020 school year, California had approximately 3.9 million children eligible for free-and reduced-priced lunch, or about 63% of children in participating schools. For the 2019-2020 school year, Connecticut had approximately 269,000 children eligible for free-and reduced-priced lunch, or about 54% of children in participating schools. Previous announcements of approvals for Pandemic EBT include: Michigan, Rhode Island, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Arizona, Illinois, Alabama, and Wisconsin.

    Under FFCRA, states have the option to submit a plan to the Secretary of Agriculture for providing these benefits to SNAP and non-SNAP households with children who have temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals due to pandemic-related school closures. State agencies may operate Pandemic EBT when a school is closed for at least five consecutive days during a public health emergency designation during which the school would otherwise be in session.

    The implementation of Pandemic EBT is in line with USDA’s commitment to keep Americans safe, secure, and healthy during this national emergency and to keep kids fed when schools are closed. USDA is working with states and local authorities to ensure schools and other program operators can continue to feed children. This latest action complements previously-announced flexibilities for the child nutrition programs that:

    • Allow parents and guardians to pick up meals to bring home to their kids;
    • Temporarily waive meal times requirements to make it easier to pick up multiple-days’ worth of meals at once;
    • Allow meals be served in non-congregate settings to support social distancing;
    • Waive the requirement that afterschool meals and snacks served through certain programs be accompanied by educational activities to minimize exposure to the novel coronavirus; and
    • Allow states, on an individual state-by-state basis, to serve free meals to children in all areas, rather than only those in areas where at least half of students receive free or reduced-price meals.

    Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of actions that USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has taken to uphold the USDA’s commitment to “Do Right and Feed Everyone” during this national emergency. Other actions include:

    • Launching a new coronavirus webpage to proactively inform the public about USDA’s efforts to keep children and families fed;
    • Providing more than one million meals a week through public-private partnership Meals to You;
    • Increasing access to online purchasing by expanding the online purchasing pilot to more than half of all SNAP households;
    • Debuting “Meals for Kids” interactive site finder – to help families find meals for children while schools are closed across more than 38,000 locations;
    • Allowing states to issue emergency supplemental SNAP benefits totaling more than $2 billion per month to increase recipients’ purchasing power;
    • Collecting solutions to feeding children impacted through feedingkids@usda.gov; and
    • Providing more than 1,500 administrative flexibilities in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to allow for social distancing.

    These actions and more are part of USDA’s focus on service during the COVID-19 outbreak. To learn more about FNS’s response to COVID-19, visit www.fns.usda.gov/coronavirus.

    USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers 15 nutrition assistance programs that leverage American’s agricultural abundance to ensure children and low-income individuals and families have nutritious food to eat. FNS also co-develops the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which provide science-based nutrition recommendations and serve as the cornerstone of federal nutrition policy.

    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

  • USDA COVID-19 Food Assistance Program to Support Farmers

    Summary

    By Schramm, Williams & Associates, Inc. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the $19 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to support farmers and ranchers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This program is comprised of two major elements: direct payments to farmers and ranchers and commodity purchase and distribution.

    • Direct Payments Program – Provides $16 billion in direct support based on actual losses for agricultural producers where prices and market supply chains have been impacted and will assist producers with additional adjustment and marketing costs resulting from lost demand and short-term oversupply for the 2020 marketing year caused by COVID-19.
    • Purchase and Distribution Program – $3 billion of agricultural products, including meat, dairy, and produce will be purchased to support producers and provided food to those in need. USDA will work with local food and regional distributors to deliver food to food banks, as well as community and faith-based organization to provide food to those in need.

    CFAP uses funding authorities provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), USDA’s existing CCC funding, and Section 32 authority.

    Direct Assistance Program

    Source of Funds

    This program is funded using the $9.5 billion emergency program secured in the CARES Act and $6.5 billion in Credit Commodity Corporation (CCC) funding.

    Payment Allocations

    USDA will provide $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers including:

    • $2.1 billion for specialty crops producers
    • $500 million for others crops

    Payment Calculations

    Producers will receive a single payment determined using two calculations:

    1. Price losses that occurred January 1 – April 15, 2020.
    2. Producers will be compensated for 85% of price loss during that period.
    3. The expected losses from April 15 through the next two quarters.
    4. Will cover 30% of expected losses.

    Limitations

    • The payment limit is $125,000 per commodity with an overall limit of $250,000 per individual or entity.
    • Qualified commodities must have experienced a 5% price decrease between January and April.

    Expected Timeframe

    Program Sign-up: Beginning in Early May

    Payment Distribution: End of May or early June

    Food Purchase and Distribution Program

    Commodity Procurement

    It will begin with the procurement of an estimated:

    • $100 million per month in fresh fruits and vegetables;
    • $100 million per month in a variety of dairy products;
    • $100 million per month in meat products.

    Distribution

    The distributors and wholesalers will provide a pre-approved box of fresh produce, dairy, and meat products to food banks, community and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need.

    Additional Food Purchasing

    In addition to the two targeted programs, USDA will utilize other available funding sources to purchase and distribute food to those in need.

    • USDA has up to an additional $873.3 million available in Section 32 funding to purchase a variety of agricultural products for distribution to food banks. The use of these funds will be determined by industry requests, USDA agricultural market analysis, and food bank needs.
    • The FFCRA and CARES Act provided an at least $850 million for food bank administrative costs and USDA food purchases, of which a minimum of $600 million will be designated for food purchases. The use of these funds will be determined by food bank need and product availability.

     

    Further details regarding eligibility, rates, and other implementation will be released at a later date.

  • 15th Western Regional Dairy Challenge® Recap; National Contest Cancelled

    66 students from eight Western U.S. universities and one Canadian college traveled to Modesto, California, for the 15th annual Western Dairy Challenge on February 20 – 22, 2020. The contest was hosted by Modesto Junior College.

    The Western Regional Dairy Challenge is a three-day educational competition designed to prepare students for dairy careers. Working in mixed-university teams of four or five students, participants assessed all aspects of a working dairy farm, including facilities, nutrition, financials, reproduction and animal health. Students collaborated on a 20-minute team presentation that detailed their observations and suggestions to a panel of judges. Teams were ranked based on how well their evaluations matched the judges’ evaluations of the dairy operation. 

    On Thursday students learned about the structure of function of Hilmar Cheese at the Hilmar Cheese Visitor Center.  Next, students participated in a team building event, where they met their teammates from other universities and competed in these teams to make cheese.  As part of the team building exercise, they competed to determine which team had the highest yielding cheese production. They also kicked off the competition portion of the and spent the evening diving into the host dairy’s records to assess the strengths and weaknesses that show up in the numbers. 

    On Friday morning, the teams headed out to the local host dairy that graciously opened their doors to the students.  They spent 3 1/2 hours walking the facility, observing the cows and the management aspects of the operation. Following the on-farm assessment, the students participated in a question and answer session with the owner of the dairy. Sponsors and volunteers attending the event networked with and mentored the students throughout the weekend.

    On Saturday morning, students presented their findings to a panel of judges made up of a nutritionist, a veterinarian, a financial analyst and a dairy producer who ranked them on their presentation and conclusions. Students also had the opportunity to hear the judging panel’s full critique of the dairy’s opportunities to round out this learning experience.

    1st Place Teams: 

     

    Team 6 – Strawberry 

    Rebecca Hedges (University of Alberta), Lars Schilderink (Cal Poly State University – SLO), Katelin Baker (Washington State University), Anthony Buzzetti (University of Idaho), Madison Zamaroni (University of California, Davis

     

    Team 7 – Olive 

    Alex Kelly (University of Idaho), Logan Real (California State University – Fresno), Kristofer Yelderman (Utah State University), Kolin Stock (Cal Poly State University – SLO), Karen Visscher (University of Alberta)

     Team 8 – Orange

    Summer Call (Cal Poly State University – SLO), Mariah Richards (Utah State University), Shai Searcy (Texas A&M University), Nathan Tollenaar (Cal Poly State University – SLO), Magnus Yoshimura (Washington State University) 

    2nd Place Teams: 

     Team 2 – Almond 

    Michael Campbell (Utah State University), Gerrit de Jong (Cal Poly State University), Courtnee Hainstock (University of Alberta), Regan Highsmith (Washington State University, Calissa Lubben (South Dakota State University), Mykaela Owens (University of Idaho)  

    Team 4 – Carrot

    Jordan Bairos (California State University – Fresno), Kailey Foster (Utah State University), Trevor Maciel (Cal Poly State University – SLO), Logan Papinchak (Texas A&M University), Joseph Terry (University of California, Davis)

     Team 12 – Lemon

    Natalie Koke (Texas A&M University), Kylee Elmore (University of Idaho), Nicolaus Machado (California State University – Fresno), Danica Valencia (Cal Poly State University – SLO), Jenna Van Wyk (South Dakota State University)

    A committee of dairy industry representatives organized the Dairy Challenge, led by local host volunteers. In addition, a long list of volunteers was important to the competition’s success, as is the case for every Dairy Challenge event. To volunteer or become a sponsor for the 2021 contest, contact Molly Kelley at mollyk@dairychallenge.org or go to dairychallenge.org for more information. All contributions are tax deductible and contributing sponsor listings are available on the website. 

     The Western Regional Dairy Challenge is under the guidance and support of the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC), which was established in April 2002 as a collegiate management contest to incorporate evaluation of all aspects of a specific dairy business. For more information, visit www.dairychallenge.org.

     COVID-19 Update

    It is with great disappointment that we also share that North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge slated for March 26th to 28, 2020, in Green Bay, WI, has been cancelled. The safety of the students and volunteers planning to participate is of utmost importance to our organization, and this difficult decision was made in recognition of the declared global pandemic surrounding the COVID-19 viral disease and out of respect for the advisory surrounding large group gatherings by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. We want to thank the Green Bay dairy community for their hard work to prepare for this event and we hope to return in the future. During this difficult time, we appreciate the support of the sponsors, coaches, volunteers and friends of Dairy Challenge. Further updates on sponsorship, entry fees and other details will be provided on our website as they become available.

  • Dairy Council of CA Encourages Healthy Eating During Unprecedented Times

    Message from CEO Tammy Anderson-Wise: We are living in an unprecedented and challenging time as COVID-19 continues to spread across the United States. California schools and non-essential businesses have closed their doors, and Californians are being asked to stay at home as a safety measure to stop the spread of this fast-moving pandemic.

    Dairy Council of California believes the health of children, families and communities is a top priority, and by putting the health of others first through social distancing and self-quarantining, everyone can take part in helping to contain COVID-19. We believe that by sharing strength, support and resources with one another during this difficult time, communities will emerge from this pandemic strong and intact. We also recognize that families and school communities will need more help than ever as shelter-in-place policies are forcing families to find alternative ways to educate and feed their children.

    This is why Dairy Council of California has prioritized and focused outreach efforts on ensuring children, families and all members of school communities are supported while schools are closed.

    Dairy Council of California, in partnership with California Milk Processor Board and with the support of California State Senator Richard Pan, No Kid Hungry, California Department of Education and collaboratives throughout California, is leading the statewide effort to support food access by developing new resources and launching a public awareness campaign to promote free school meal programs throughout the state that continue to nourish children.

    On March 20:

    • We launched HealthyEating.org/SchoolMeals, a landing page that comprehensively aggregates all feeding sites in the state that provide children with free meals. Users can easily self-navigate to find the closest location to their home.
    • We also distributed a joint press release via the wire and began promoting the landing page on social media, inviting partners to do the same.
    • We shared an e-communication with partners, collaboratives, educators, health professionals, school communities and the dairy community.


    On March 23:

    • We launched HealthyEating.org/AlimentacionEscolar, the Spanish version of the landing page.
    • California Milk Processor Board launched a paid media campaign to drive awareness to the free school meal service programs and increase participation.


    Since the landing page launched on Friday, we have already received positive feedback from our education and public health partners with interest in sharing our landing page to their communities, and the page has garnered 3,000 unique site visits. We are committed to continuing to add new feeding locations to the existing site and working with our partners to ramp up their platforms, including No Kid Hungry’s text hotline. We will also provide ongoing support and expertise to statewide and regional communications, supporting collaborative efforts to nourish our most vulnerable children while schools are closed.

    As the situation continues to rapidly change, Dairy Council of California is well-positioned to evolve to meet growing needs. Beyond supporting food access, we are also equipping our education and health partners with free online nutrition resources they can provide to families and students for in-home education and enrichment. In just over a week, we have already sent several e-communications with packaged online resources and information via our social channels. Highlights include:

    • A roundup of our grade-specific nutrition curriculum, broken out by grade level.
    • Information on the landing page that shows school meal service sites.
    • The release of a new episode of Ask a Nutritionist, answering “Can I Freeze Milk?”
    • Resources to teach agricultural literacy at home, leveraging Mobile Dairy Classroom educational videos to bring the farm to students.


    These actions are just the beginning. As we adjust to a temporary new normal, Dairy Council of California intends to find innovative ways to continue to support our community partners in all sectors, including education, health and the dairy industry. We will continue to develop and share online resources, support food access and advocate for milk and dairy’s role in healthy eating patterns as well as supporting optimal growth and development in children. In the coming weeks, we will keep you abreast of the situation and our ongoing efforts.

    In addition to sharing with your partners and community the landing page developed to help children access free meal service, you may also be interested in supporting the USDA’s Milk Donation Reimbursement Program as a way to help with the critical need of food access. Under this program, eligible dairy organizations that account to a federal milk marketing order market wide pool and incur qualified expenses related to certain fluid milk product donations may apply for and receive limited reimbursements. This program reduces food waste and encourages dairy donations to food assistance programs that reach individuals in low-income groups. To participate, contact Emily DeBord, Marketing Specialist at USDA’s AMS Dairy Program, 202.720.5567 or mdrp@usda.gov.

    Healthy regards,

    Tammy Anderson-Wise, CEO

  • Pistachio Extract Fights Off Bacterial & Viral Infections

    With the panic of an international pandemic, citizens are flocking the grocery stores stockpiling essential food and supplies. Recent studies suggest that pistachios should be on that list of groceries to stock up on too. In addition to their known health properties, recent published research shows that pistachio extract can thwart and even kill certain bacteria and viruses. Watch this brief video with Judy Hirigoyen from American Pistachio Growers and read more about it in the coming issue of Pacific Nut Producer Magazine.