The Pettis County Health Center in Sedalia is one of the latest “Milk Depot” sites in Missouri, which means it is a community-based location where individuals can donate human breast milk.
This is in partnership with the Indiana-based non-profit, The Milk Bank, which coordinates the donated breast milk supply in Indiana, Kentucky and Missouri.
Lindsey Curry, the WIC nutrition coordinator at the health center, said the donated breast milk is used to help premature & medically fragile infants.
“If they have an oversupply of milk and they don't know what to do with it, they can bring it here to us, and it'll go to a special cause,” Curry said. “And moms, you know, that lose their babies, and they want to continue nursing and breastfeeding, they can bring the milk here to us.”
Once collected, the donated breast milk is sent to Indiana to be processed and pasteurized before it’s sent out to hospitals and other community partners throughout the region.
Mary Timmel is the advancement coordinator for The Milk Bank in Missouri.
“As your body's developing, especially when they're coming in early, those nutrients that are present in breast milk naturally, are the things that the body needs,” Timmel said. “So, it helps them fight off NEC (Necrotizing Entercolitis), which is just an intestinal disorder. It helps their bodies develop. It really puts them on the path of developing at a better rate.”
Timmel said there are now 19 Milk Depot sites across the state, and another is set to open in the next few months.
You can find the full list of Milk Depot sites in Missouri – here.
