PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Putnam County Health Department Expands Partnership with The Milk Bank
New Milk Express expands access to safe donor breast milk; supports infant health and health equity
Unionville, Mo. June 6, 2026 — The Putnam County Health Department is deepening its partnership with The Milk Bank by opening a Milk Express. This new program will expand access to lifesaving pasteurized donor human milk for infants throughout Putnam County.
The Milk Express is now open to the public at the Putnam County Health Department, located at 103 N. 18th St, Unionville, MO, 63565. A grand opening celebration will take place at their location as part of their World Breastfeeding Week Open House on August 4, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
“As a rural community, access to safe donor milk has been limited in the past,” said Erin Ballard, Breastfeeding Peer Counselor at the Putnam County Health Department. “We’re proud to be adding this service to our community that gives families another resource to support their feeding goals and their baby’s health.”
The Milk Express site is a convenient location where parents and caregivers can pick up orders of pasteurized donor human milk from The Milk Bank. Orders may be picked up Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Please call 660-947-2429 ext. 33 to arrange pick-up. Quick access to safe donor milk gives parents peace of mind when it is needed as a medical treatment, to bridge a gap early in postpartum, or to help meet breastfeeding goals.
This is the first Milk Express to open in Putnam County. “Families in Putnam County now have local access to both a Milk Depot and Milk Express—removing barriers and making it easier than ever for parents to donate life-saving milk and for vulnerable infants to receive it,” said Freedom Kolb, CEO of The Milk Bank. “By bringing both services together in one location, this partnership strengthens our reach across Northern Missouri and ensures more babies have access to the nutrition they need to survive and thrive.”
Putnam County Health Department began its partnership with The Milk Bank in October of 2022 by opening a Milk Depot. The community-based milk donation site makes it easy for approved milk donors to drop off donations of excess frozen breast milk.
For more information on how to place an order for pasteurized donor human milk or become an approved milk donor, please contact The Milk Bank at 317-536-1670 or visit themilkbank.org.
About The Milk Bank
The Milk Bank is a non-profit tissue bank dispensing more than 700,000 ounces of pasteurized donor human milk to hospitals and families throughout the region every year. Since its inception in 2005, The Milk Bank has provided more than 17.9 million feedings of safe human milk to infants born too small, too sick, or too soon.
Review The Milk Bank’s press kit and for additional media inquiries, contact Lindsay McGuire, Assistant Director of Advancement – Branding & Outreach, at lmcguire@themilkbank.org or 317-536-1670 ext. 114.
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