Editor’s note: Melissa Bravo is an agronomist and livestock specialist in Williamsport, Pa. She volunteered during a recent dairy drive-thru at a local farm, and this is her firsthand account of the event.

Just 12 days after posting on social media that her milk cooperative was dumping milk, Kelly Taylor of Taylor Pride Farms in Lawrenceville, Pa., decided that she wanted to do something about it.

“I don't know how we go from exponential use of Class I milk to dumping milk when stores are still limiting purchases, or worse, out completely,” Taylor wrote on her Facebook page April 1.

With help from John Painter, a dairy producer and former county Farm Bureau president, she decided to do something about the milk shortage in her community.  

By April 9, the Taylors and Steve Wunderlich, a well-known hoof trimmer, had come up with a quick solution. A sign went up on Taylor’s Facebook page: “Dairy drive-thru donations are being accepted! Link in comments!”

Within minutes, local businesses and members of the community were donating via a link to Wunderlich’s business website, with all proceeds going toward dairy purchases to donate to members of the community.

“Your donation will be used, in its entirety, to purchase dairy products that will be handed out to those in need!” according to the website.

Wunderlich then went to work promoting the idea on his daily video blog. When I saw it, I immediately offered to volunteer my time to help out.

DONATING FOR DAIRY: Drivers participating in the drive-thru dairy donated money to help cover the costs of buying milk and other products. The event was organized by local farmer Kelly Taylor, a local dairy farmer, who noticed empty shelves at her local grocery store and wanted to do something to get dairy products to local people.

When I arrived at the farm on Easter Sunday, a few minutes past 11 a.m., the volunteers had already given away 40 to 50 boxes of product in the first 15 minutes.

“A box contains a gallon to 2 gallons of milk, string cheese, block cheese, yogurt, sour cream etc.” Wunderlich told me. “We purchased milk from Aldi in Elmira, [N.Y.], and milk and other dairy products donated by Dairy Farmers of America, Turk’s Dairy in Troy, [Pa.], and God’s Country Creamery in Ulysses, [Pa.].”

Monetary donations online and in the drive-up line continued throughout the day.

“Sixty some people, all local donors and even a hoof trimmer from overseas I know, donated to this effort,” said Wunderlich as he accepted donations from drivers as they pulled up to the dairy. In exchange for a Happy Easter greeting and a thank you, drivers received as many boxes as they had family to feed.

“I figure we fed 400 people with the hundred boxes we gave out today,” he said.  

More than 60 cars came through the drive-up dairy handout, and another drive-thru was held April 19.  

“We are overwhelmed by our community’s generosity,” he said.

“I know personally people who donated who could not afford to. Our community rocks! I am so thankful we live and work here,” Taylor told me.

This past weekend, a mile-long stretch of cars came out for the second dairy drive-thru.

More than 266 cars drove through the U-shaped driveway at the farm in under two hours to get gallon jugs of milk and a box containing an assortment of refrigerated dairy products. The organizers have received more than $6,400 in monetary donations from more than 131 individual sponsors.

Local businesses Tioga Container and Wunderlich Hoof Care provided boxes, and Dana's Diner donated cooler storage space.

Other local business owners have donated purchased milk, and farm neighbor Jim Meyers, "just a guy with a beverage buggy," loaned the organizers his moveable beverage unit. 

"The majority of people who came through gave a donation as well as taking a donation. It's pretty awesome when people receive their dairy product and donate as well,” Wunderlich said.  

With farmers like this in our towns, you won’t have to worry about those empty grocery store shelves.

Those wishing to make a donation to the Tioga-Potter Young Farmers dairy donation drive can do so by going online or by calling Wunderlich at 607-425-6973.