Pennsylvania farmers give milk, time to MCC project

Mennonite Central Committee
Friday, 3 August 2001

EPHRATA, Pa. -- With a bright sun shining, the first day in August would seem to have been a perfect day for farmers to be working in the fields. But members of 10 dairy farming families in central Pennsylvania spent the day loading a container with dried milk, canned meat and school kits destined for children in Palestine. The supplies were loaded at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) East Coast Material Resources Center in Ephrata.

As part of MCC's Milk Bank project, the dairy farmers donate a portion of each milk sale to an MCC account. The Milk Bank then sells the milk to purchase dried milk and other milk products. Last year 55 farmers took part in the project, raising more than $31,000.

Traveling 150 miles to Ephrata from their home north of Williamsport, Steve and Sue Neff gladly gave up a day on their 80-cow farm to help load the 40-foot container.

"We have been a part of this program since 1990," Steve said, while shrink-wrapping a stack of bagged dried milk for shipment. "This is a great hands-on opportunity for us."

When asked why farmers would give milk to MCC when many struggle financially, Daniel Brubacher of Kutztown said, "You don't look at it that way. The scriptures tell us to give to those who need help. This is our way of helping."

"This is an excellent way for me as a farmer to give," said Mel Nissley, who with his wife, Marilyn, milks 170 cows on their farm near Middletown. "By giving milk I really am giving a tithe of my total production and not just a tithe of the money I get."

"The Bible says we are all part of the body of Christ," Nissley said. "We are not all hands or feet. This is my way of being part of that body."

In addition to the farmers, MCC Palestine worker Ed Nyce, of Mt. Joy, Pa., helped load the container. Nyce, who works in the Palestinian town of Bethlehem and is currently visiting family nearby, was excited to be involved at the giving end of the process. "It is wonderful to see all these people giving not only their milk but their time to ready this container for shipping," he said.

The container left Ephrata on Aug. 2 and should arrive at the port of Ashdod, Israel within the month. The milk, meat and school kits will then be transported to Christian schools in Beit Jala, Hebron and Ramallah. The milk powder will be used to make yogurt, a staple of the Palestinian diet used as a dressing for salads, a sauce for rice and meat dishes and a soup base.

At the end of the day, the farmers encouraged MCC to recruit more farmers for the Milk Bank project, said John Hostetler, of MCC East Coast constituency relations.

In a final prayer of dedication for the shipment, the group thanked God for the hands that donated the supplies, the hands that are helping transport them and the hands that will receive them.

For more information, or to contact Mennonite Central Committee, see their website at: www.mcc.org