Nonprofit gets fresh milk to city's needy

Alma Washington planned to drink hers with each meal. Marie Bellot wanted to serve hers to her grandchildren. Robert Elgin Collington said his would go with his favorite cereals.

Milk was on the minds of dozens of Harlem residents who lined up last Thursday to receive free quarts handed out weekly by a Manhattan-based nonprofit spurred to action by the commodity's rising prices.

Bellot, 71, waiting near the front of the line, had arrived at the giveaway site an hour and a half before Milk from the Heart staff were to pull up in a cargo van, open its doors and unload coolers of fresh milk.

"It's a good idea. Milk is very expensive, so this helps," said the grandmother of 12. "It helps to have that money to use to buy other things."

Homes for the Homeless, a social services provider, launched Milk from the Heart in February after organizers found residents of low-income neighborhoods had limited access to fresh, low-fat milk.

Few food pantries offer milk -- primarily because it's perishable -- and those that do give out only whole milk or the powdered variety, said project coordinator Jonah Nelson.

In the beginning, the program handed out just a couple hundred quarts of milk each month citywide. It now gives out 14,000 quarts of milk monthly, making weekly visits to 13 locations in Manhattan and the Bronx.

"We've seen the need really explode," Nelson said. "We expected to find communities, pockets here and there in need. What we found was an entire city in need."

Those who line up receive two quarts of 1 percent milk each. Anyone can come to the drop-offs, where staff includes Spanish and Creole speakers. The milk usually runs out in about an hour.

Seed money for the program was gifted by philanthropist couple Leonard and Allison Stern, but organizers are seeking more sponsors in order to expand to other locations.

Dairy prices rose 9.1 percent between August 2010 and August of this year, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In New York City, the price of a gallon hovers around $4.

"Heck yeah, it's expensive. And when you're on a set income, every dollar you can save helps," said milk recipient Collington, 61. "They're giving us two quarts a week. You can't beat that."

Theodore Wells, 50, of Harlem, said he would spend the money he saves on "soap, toothpaste and the wash."

Beyond lending a slight financial edge, the program also provides a nutritional one. "Milk is good for me," Bellot said. "It's healthy so I'm glad I can get it from somewhere."

Washington, 60, another milk recipient, said she wished "they'd come every day."

"This ain't even going to last me the day," she said, "because I drink milk with everything."