With schools closed and community meal services suspended amid the COVID-19 crisis, the need for reliable, nutritious food is even greater for thousands of families across the country.

In response, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) said its family farmer-owners donated the equivalent of more than 625,000 gallons of milk to the many families faced with hunger who relied on these services over the past few months. Additionally, through the creation of the DFA Cares Farmers Feeding Families Fund, DFA and its farmer-owners are raising money to help provide essential support and deliver much-needed dairy products to community food banks across the country. To date, DFA has raised more than $500,000.

“With job losses, food insecurity and the need for additional supplies at food banks at an all-time high, we’re grateful for our family farmers, employees, industry partners and friends in the community for all they are doing in the midst of this pandemic to get dairy from the farm to the tables of those in need,” said Monica Massey, DFA executive vice president and chief of staff.

Starting on June 1, World Milk Day, DFA is encouraging everyone to join the cooperative in the Gallons of Good initiative. For every social post a person shares about what he or she is grateful for using #GallonsOfGood during the month of June, DFA said it will donate $1 to help local food banks purchase milk through the Farmers Feeding Families Fund.

“In times like this, when people are trying to feed their families with sometimes scarce resources, they know dairy offers a wealth of nutrition, yet it’s one of the least donated items at food banks,” said Massey. “As a community of more than 13,000 family dairy farmers, we know initiatives like #GallonsOfGood are more important than ever to get more milk into the hands of people who need it most.”

To kick off the 20th anniversary of World Milk Day and spread the word about #GallonsOfGood, DFA said it also is shining a light on all the dairy industry efforts with a video that’s all about dairy goodness. Additionally, throughout June Dairy Month, DFA family farmers across the country will deliver more than 10,000 gallons of milk to local communities through milk giveaways, food drives, and donations to local food banks. Follow along throughout the month on @dfamilk on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.