PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ripley County Health Department and The Milk Bank Open Milk Depot and Milk Express
Programs expand access to safe donor breast milk; support infant health and health equity
Versailles, In. June 2, 2026 — The Ripley County Health Department has partnered with The Milk Bank to open a Milk Depot and Milk Express site. These programs will expand access to lifesaving pasteurized donor human milk for infants throughout Ripley County.
The Milk Depot and Milk Express are now open to the public at the Ripley County Health Department, located at 102 W. First North St. Versailles, IN 47042. “Looking at the data for breastfeeding in Ripley County, we realized lactating mothers are in a resource ‘desert’,” stated Kelly McAvoy, Maternal & Child Health Coordinator for Ripley County Health Department. “This partnership with The Milk Bank allows us not only better access to pasteurized donor human milk, but to all of the support and education that The Milk Bank provides beyond it.”
The Milk Depot makes it easy for approved milk donors of The Milk Bank to drop-off donations of excess frozen breast milk. Donations from approved donors are accepted Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., and on Thursdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Please call 812-689-5751 ahead of drop-off and select option 6.
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. 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 and Milk Depot to open in Ripley County. “Families in Ripley 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 Southeastern Indiana and ensures more babies have access to the nutrition they need to survive and thrive.”
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 Ripley County Health Department
Ripley County Health Department is located inside the Ripley County Annex, across from the Ripley County Courthouse in Versailles, IN. Their divisions include Environment Health, Harm Reduction, Tattoo/Body Piercing Regulation, Food Protection, Vital Records, Nursing, Maternal & Child Health, and Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR). In 2026, the Health Department has made concerted efforts to improve health outcomes for pregnancies, babies, and mothers in Ripley County and southeast Indiana.
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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