Dairy industry volunteers pack nearly 15,000 meals in Madison

Twenty-five dairy industry volunteers spent three hours packing and sorting food at Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin in Madison, where a June 22 service event turned a mix of labor and donations into nearly 15,000 meals. The effort paired 156 cases of American and Cheddar cheese with a $7,000 contribution from several Wisconsin-based dairy companies.

The food bank will move that donation through more than 300 partner agencies and programs across its 16-county southern Wisconsin service area. Second Harvest, which operates from 2802 Dairy Drive in Madison, says volunteers help sort, pack and distribute nutritious food to neighbors experiencing hunger, and that its network distributes more than 20 million pounds of food each year.

For workplace leaders watching how volunteer events actually function, the Madison effort showed a model that goes beyond a one-day photo opportunity. The service work was timed ahead of the 2026 IDFA Leadership Symposium, tying volunteer labor to an industry gathering that can also serve as a recruiting ground for future donors, partners and advocates. The IDFA Foundation said the Madison project fits into a broader giving pattern that has produced more than 1.1 million meals since 2022.

That matters for food-recovery organizations that rely on repeat participation, not one-off enthusiasm. A service day with a clear end point, a defined meal total and a known distribution channel gives participants a direct view of where the food goes, which can help with volunteer retention and with the kind of industry relationships that keep pantry shelves moving. In Madison, the connection was visible: dairy companies supplied the product, volunteers handled the packing work, and Second Harvest pushed the food into a regional system built to reach families, meal sites, schools and other community partners.

The Madison event also echoed an earlier southern Wisconsin effort from 2024, when the IDFA Foundation coordinated a donation of 200 cases of American Swiss sliced cheese from Associated Milk Producers Inc. to Second Harvest. In that year, Second Harvest and its partners distributed 19.7 million meals across the same 16-county area, underscoring how the food bank’s scale and its corporate partnerships can reinforce each other when service is tied to a concrete distribution network.