Food Bank of Iowa CEO Michelle Book, third from left, is seen with representatives of Fareway and Kemps, which donated more than 33,000 containers of shelf-stable milk to the food bank on Wednesday. Photo submitted by Kemps.

Kemps has partnered with Fareway Meat and Grocery to donate nearly 34,000 packs of shelf-stable Giving Cow brand milk cartons to the Food Bank of Iowa. According to a news release, the single-serving, 8-ounce packs of ultra-high-temperature pasteurized milk have a shelf life of up to 12 months. Typically, fresh milk has a shelf life of about 20 days. The Giving Cow milk is designed for food pantries and backpack programs for students. It is not sold in stores. According to the release, milk is one of the most requested items at food pantries, but also one of the least donated items because food pantries often lack sufficient cold storage. Michelle Book, Food Bank of Iowa CEO, said the milk is included with other kid-friendly food and placed into student backpacks on Friday afternoons to help children get through the weekend until they return to school on Monday. The donation was part of nearly 400,000 Giving Cow milk donations to food banks in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The St. Paul, Minn.-based Kemps also donated more than 61,000 cartons of the milk to the Food Bank of Iowa in March 2021. Food Bank officials say when they have purchased the shelf-stable milk from Feeding America, they cost 38 cents each.