The Morrow County Dairy Association recently made a donation of $2,000 to both the Cardington and Edison food pantries. Pictured (left to right) are From left Eddie Lou Meimer, Ed Colgrove, Cara Chamberlain, Janey Creswell, John Lawyer and Janet Walker.
Alberta Stojkovic | AIM Media Midwest
At its June 5 meeting, the Morrow County Dairy Association (MCDA) donated $4,000, divided equally between the Cardington Community Food Pantry and the Edison Enterprise Baptist Food Pantry.
Dairy Association Vice President Eddie Lou Meimer described how the MCDA has sold ice cream and milk shakes at the Morrow County Fair for over 30 years and with the money raised, it has promoted the dairy industry in the community through sponsoring product distribution, education and scholarships.
MCDA member Terri Miller said she was volunteering at the Edison food pantry where she was passing out gallon jugs of milk. She was glad to see the milk had an expiration date two weeks away. Miller said people were very appreciative of the milk.
Edison Baptist pastor Ed Colegrove said he knew he would keep up the work with the pantry when he helped an elderly man a few years ago. The man was in tears and said he never thought he would be in a position where he would need to use the food pantry.
“We don’t question anyone’s needs,” Colegrove said. “People often just hit a rough patch and have trouble paying their bills.”
John Lawyer, of the Cardington Food Pantry, said they see as many as 400 families some months, while Colegrove said they serve about 600 families per month.
Meimer added, “Our intent is for this grant to provide a needed source of nutrition to citizens utilizing our food pantries. We naturally request this grant be used to purchase milk and products made with milk.”
In other MCDA business, the outgoing dairy princess was introduced along with the 2023 junior and senior Morrow County Dairy Association ambassadors.
Ella Creswell is the outgoing MCDA princess. Creswell lives on a dairy farm and attends Northmor High School. She is active in 4-H and FFA and has had dairy cows since she was in elementary school. She is the daughter of Sarah and Andy Creswell.
Cara Chamberlain is the 2023 senior MCDA ambassador. She has participated in 4-H and FFA and had projects with dairy cows for eight years.
Chamberlain said she started exhibiting dairy cows when she was 6 years old. She showed her cow, Flouraline, for the first time at the county fair in New York State where her dad grew up. She has continued to show and grow her herd every year since. Her parents are Mark and Marcie Chamberlain.
“My favorite part of having dairy cows is harvesting the milk and making different cheeses and butter. I’m excited to exhibit my cows in the 2023 Morrow County Fair,” Chamberlain said.
MCDA member Janet Walker introduced Chamberlain and said she started her own business with baked goods when she was 11 years old.
Janey Creswell is MCDA junior dairy ambassador for 2023. She will be in the seventh grade at Northmor. Janey is a member of Friendly Farmers 4-H Club with advisor Kelly Beck. She is also part of the Lighthouse team at church and has participated with Morrow Little Theatre.
Janey has been showing cattle since she was 9 years old. She sometimes helps milk the cows on the family farm and bottle feeds the calves.
Walker shared a fun fact that Janey is working on cars with her grandpa, Garry Pfleiderer. Her parents are Sarah and Andy Creswell.
Alberta Stojkovic is a correspondent for the Morrow County Sentinel.
