REGINA — Friday was World Milk Day, and SaskMilk marked the day with a fundraiser event for a good cause.
It was their "Milk and Cookies" barbeque celebration between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with proceeds going to the Regina Food Bank. For a cost of $5, people could purchase a bottle of milk, Oreo cookies and their choice of a hot dog.
A huge inflated cow was placed in front to let people know about the event, which attracted a number of visitors including many from nearby businesses near SaskMilk's northeast Regina location.
Teresa Florizone, general manager of SaskMilk, said there were a few reasons they wanted to get the word out about World Milk Day.
"Milk is nutritional. MIlk is available in all your local stores. It is important to have as part of your daily intake," she said.
The milk industry is an important part of Saskatchewan's economy. There are 143 producers across Saskatchewan who produce the milk, and the dairy sector supports over 1,600 jobs and contributes $663.2 million to the GDP according to their news release.
In Canada the dairy sector supports over 270,000 full-time jobs and contributes $28 billion to the GDP. It impacts many sectors beyond the dairy farms including grocery stores, transporters, processors, and other.jobs..
The connection to the Regina Food Bank also made a lot of sense for SaskMilk. "Milk is really a staple of a lot of diets, and it's important to have milk," said Florizone.
