Sporting Kansas City announced today a renewed partnership with Dairy Farmers of America through the 2026 Major League Soccer season highlighted by a joint initiative to positively impact the local Kansas City, Kan., and surrounding metro communities. Together, Sporting KC and Dairy Farmers of America have teamed up to donate dairy products to Giving Hope KC after each Sporting KC victory at Children’s Mercy Park to support families in need throughout the region.
”Dairy Farmers of America is excited to continue our partnership with Sporting Kansas City. Both of our organizations are dedicated to supporting our local community and focused on sustainability as core values. Our partnership is built around these tentpoles, and we know that together, our opportunity for impact for our local communities and beyond, with the support from employees of both of our respective organizations, can be significant. We are especially excited to donate ten thousand glasses of milk to Giving Hope KC for each home game Sporting KC wins,” said Jenny Hofeditz, vice president of marketing and public relations at Dairy Farmers of America. “Each glass of milk donated represents the hard work and commitment to produce sustainably made, nutritious dairy from our 10,000+ farmers.”
“Sporting Kansas City and Dairy Farmers of America are long-standing partners with a shared commitment to the community and we are thrilled to extend the close connection between our two organizations,” said Jon Moses, Sporting Kansas City Vice President of Corporate Partnerships. “Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of children, adults and seniors in need of assistance here in our local neighborhoods and Sporting Kansas City is proud to have such a supportive partner to help lead the effort.”
Ten thousand glasses of milk will be donated to Giving Hope KC for each Sporting Kansas City home victory as part of the “When Sporting Wins, Our Community Wins” platform. In addition, Sporting Kansas City and Dairy Farmers of America will collaborate on volunteer opportunities for their associates to further impact charitable causes, philanthropic initiatives and non-profit organizations.
Giving Hope KC opened in 2018 as a drive-through pantry in Kansas City, Kan., which provides approximately 600 households in Wyandotte County and surrounding communities with nutritional meals each month. The non-profit organization will host its second annual Hope Gala on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Loew’s Kansas City Hotel.
Formed in 1998, Dairy Farmers of America is headquartered in Kansas City, Kan., less than a mile from Sporting Kansas City’s state-of-the-art stadium, Children’s Mercy Park, and world-class training facility at Compass Minerals National Performance Center. DFA is a leading global dairy cooperative with more than 10,000 dedicated family farmers who produce fluid milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, and more under farmer-owned brands across the United States, and also produces dairy ingredients for consumers around the world.
In the past four years, DFA’s family of brands and the DFA Cares Foundation have raised $1 million and donated the equivalent of 38.3 million servings of dairy for those in need nationwide. More than 300 food banks across the country have received financial support or donations of cold storage from DFA to help them offer dairy products to those in need and DFA has donated funding to 405 non-profits to purchase dairy products.
Through the partnership, Sporting Kansas City and Dairy Farmers of America will join forces to organize volunteer events with players and staff to give back locally. DFA farmers and representatives will also be recognized at Sporting Kansas City matches played at Children’s Mercy Park throughout the Major League Soccer season.
In addition, Dairy Farmers of America will serve as a gold partner of The Victory Project – Sporting Kansas City’s philanthropic foundation – with involvement in the Sporting Invitational and Victory Gala, as well as an associate partner of Sporting Salutes and Sporting Sustainability. DFA will be further integrated within the youth soccer community through a presenting partnership of the Sporting Next-Gen Invitational and inclusion in the club’s Healthy Living nutritional guide for athletes.
About Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is a national, farmer-owned dairy cooperative focusing on quality, innovation and the future of family dairies. While supporting and serving more than 10,000 family farmer-owners, DFA manufactures a variety of dairy products, including fluid milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, dairy ingredients and more that connect our Cooperative’s family farms to family tables with regional brands such as Alta Dena® Dairy, Meadow Gold® Dairy, Friendly’s®, Borden® Cheese, Plugrá® Premium Butter and Kemps® to name a few. On a global scale, we work with some of the world’s largest food companies to develop ingredients their customers are craving, while staying committed to social responsibility and ethical farming. For more information, please visit dfamilk.com.
