Kodiak farmer Kelli Foreman pours gallons of fresh, pasteurized cow’s milk into glass bottles.
“Milk is such an incredibly nutrient dense, very simple thing for kids. Like a kid can open up the door of the refrigerator, pour themselves milk and you’re good to go," she said.
Later, her two sons will deliver the bottles to local families in need. About 42 gallons a week.
Foreman, who is both a farmer and the executive director of the Kodiak Baptist Mission, calls it Milk on a Mission.
"I also know that every single day this winter I'm going to have milk. No barge is going to keep that away, you know, no shortages. I know for certain we are going to have this milk, and further, I know that it's the very best quality milk, that full fat good milk," Foreman said.
It’s Grade A certified milk, meaning it’s been pasteurized and meets other sanitary standards.
Foreman also operates the only Grade A certified goat dairy in Alaska.
She hopes to donate more milk to more people once her third dairy cow is ready to start milking in mid-December. Then, Foreman said she’ll donate all of that cow’s milk throughout the course of 2026, roughly 2,100 gallons a year. By mid-year, she could scale up even more.
“We’re going to have three cows having milk and come June that – another cow is going, like, she’s going to have a calf," she said.
Which means a fourth milking cow.
And cows can be expensive, especially the feed, the equipment and the glass jars to bottle the milk in. All of this factors into the final cost of the milk that Foreman is going to give away for free.
So Foreman said she is targeting philanthropic donors or business owners that might have deeper pockets to finance this mission. Her goal is to raise $52,000 by Dec. 15, when the third cow, Ellie Mae, should be ready to start milking. Earlier this month, $5,000 was already donated from donors off island to pay for the Kodiak cow’s milk.
Foreman hopes this will encourage other nonprofits around the country to team with local farmers in their communities to provide milk or food, too.
“And always it’s been that I really would like to help motivate other people, too," Foreman said. "It’s never been my goal just to serve Kodiak, and that’s part of Kodiak Baptist Mission. I hopefully want to help inspire other people to do that.”
Right now, Foreman provides milk to people mainly by word of mouth. To sign up to receive milk or for more information about Milk on a Mission, go online to the Kodiak Baptist Mission’s website.
