Organic Valley made a large donation of personal protective equipment to Vernon County Emergency Management on April 3. That equipment included N95 masks and protective gloves. On-hand for the donations were, from left, Margaret Becker, Organic Valley workplace services manager; Amy Kleiber, public health nurse; Brandon Larson, director of Vernon County Emergency Management; and Sydney Garavalia, public health sanitarian. (Contributed photo)
Organic Valley, the nation’s largest farmer-owned organic cooperative, donated almost 1,600 N95 protective masks and 700 protective gloves Friday afternoon to Vernon County Emergency Management in Viroqua.
The supplies, which the local cooperative had on-hand for several years, will help emergency managers in their efforts to continue to care for the community when personal protective equipment is scarce.
Vernon County Emergency Management supports 12 fire departments, 12 EMS and first responder groups, nine law enforcement agencies, four long-term care facilities, and two hospitals in the county with supplies, materials, and expertise.
“These protective masks and gloves were in our inventory at our Cashton Distribution Center,” said Jerry McGeorge, executive vice president of people with Organic Valley. “We’re happy to share them to help protect the safety and welfare of our communities.”
Organic Valley is America’s largest cooperative of organic farmers and one of the nation’s leading organic brands. Organized in 1988, it represents more than 1,800 farmers in 34 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom and achieved $1.1 billion in 2019 sales.
