At the PA Farm Show, the 2024 Fill a Glass with Hope (FGWH) charitable milk distribution program got a boost with $135,500 in donations thanks to its annual Feeding Pennsylvania fundraising campaign launch.

Joining Feeding Pennsylvania to announce the kickoff were program supporters: Two-time Super Bowl Champion and Former NFL quarterback (Pittsburgh Steelers) Charlie Batch; Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, Russell Redding; Feeding PA CEO Julie Bancroft; PA Dairymen's Association Executive Director Dave Smith; Lolly Lesher, Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program (PDPP); and John Chrisman, American Dairy Association North East (ADANE). Other notables included PA Dairy Princess Royalty, state, business, and government leaders, sponsors, dairy industry leaders, and Feeding PA member food bank leaders. 

People throughout Pennsylvania are not immune to food insecurity, with rural areas having some of the highest rates of food-insecure households. In fact, more than 1.2 million Pennsylvanians including 325,000 children experience food insecurity each year. Due to programs like FGWH, Feeding Pennsylvania's nine partner food banks distribute more than 164 million pounds of food through a network of over 2,700 agencies and feeding programs.

"Milk is one of the most requested items at food banks across the state," said Julie Bancroft, CEO, Feeding Pennsylvania. "Fill a Glass with Hope allows food banks to secure more nutritious and nourishing, protein-rich milk to help Pennsylvanians experiencing hunger thrive."

Fill a Glass with Hope was first launched in 2015 through a partnership of local dairy farmers and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. Once Feeding PA signed onto the program, it has evolved into the country's first statewide charitable fresh milk distribution program currently supplying more than 36 million servings of milk to people in need. Pennsylvanians experiencing food insecurity are served through Feeding Pennsylvania's nine partner food banks.

The funds will launch this year's campaign with donations exceeding $135,500, including $25,000 Keystone Sponsors Weis Markets and Coterra Energy, Inc. In 2023, Weis Markets raised over $84,000 through their retail round-up at the register program during National Dairy Month, and PA Dairy Princesses also contributed $8,582 to the charitable cause.

"Thanks to Fill a Glass with Hope and its sponsors, fresh milk is available at food pantries throughout our state. Together, we want to ensure that families, especially children, have essential nutrients to fuel their days," stressed two-time Super Bowl Champion and Former NFL quarterback (Pittsburgh Steelers) Charlie Batch.