Dairy firms donate banquet fees to food pantry in Colby

The Central Wisconsin Cheese and Buttermakers Association (CWCBA) of Greenwood was forced to cancel its spring meeting and banquet scheduled in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CWCBA secretary/treasurer Jim Mildbrand notified all those individuals and companies that had registered for the event that their registration monies would be refunded. Mildbrand said approximately 90 percent of the registrants stated their funds should be kept by the association and donated to worthy causes.

“Our officers and board of directors decided to donate the banquet funds to food banks in Clark, Marathon and Wood counties,” Mildbrand said. “The CWCBA is happy to donate $404.25 to the CUP food pantry located at Zion Lutheran Church in Colby.”

Mildbrand said the following companies and individuals donated their banquet fee money: Loos Machine and Automation, Grassland Dairy Products, Inc., Color Craft Graphic Arts, Complete Filtration Resources, Meyer-Rix, Nelson/ Jameson, McNeely Financial Services, Advanced Process Technologies, DSM, Relco, Wiskerchen Cheese, Tosca LTD, Nasonville Dairy, Wausau Chemical, I State Trucks, Kremer Consultancy, Custom Fabricating and Repair, Green Bay Packaging, Jim Banks and Chris Hansen.

“If you see anyone associated with these companies and individuals, thank them for their generosity,” Mildbrand said.

The donation to the CUP Food Pantry was presented by Mildbrand to Todd Schmidt, parish administrator of Zion Lutheran Church, who gratefully accepted the funds on behalf of CUP. A unique social distancing technique was used to present the check.

“CUP will use these funds to purchase additional food items to distribute to those in need in this area,” Schmidt said. “We thank the CWCBA for its generosity.”

The CUP Food Pantry is located at Zion Lutheran, and is open through the church office for the time being. Call 715-223-2166 to make arrangements for food distribution.