Leftover Golden Guernsey Milk Donated to Hunger Task Force

More than eight truckloads of milk left in the Golden Guernsey plant after the dairy closed abruptly will be donated to the Hunger Task Force, according to WISN (Channel 12).

Some of the 111 workers who lost their jobs when the plant shut down with no warning Jan. 5 had mentioned the dairy still had milk product going to waste in the milk processing facility. 

“It’s really great to be able to make a call and let a pantry know they’ll have real milk to give a family or to a meal program telling them they can serve fresh milk with supper," said Sherrie Tussler, executive director for the Hunger Task Force. "With all of this dairy we are going to be able to reach out to communities all over the state and offer them something they don’t see very often. This is a good day."

Golden Guernsey declared bankruptcy on Jan. 8. A news release from OpenGate Capital, a California firm that owned Golden Guernsey, stated that Golden Guernsey sales increased by 20 percent, but expenses were exceeding the revenues.

OpenGate Capital’s chief executive officer has blamed

Employees were left without answers when the plant shut down. One employee, Robert Storm, has filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development because the employees did not receive 60 days notice before they lost their jobs.

The company started in 1930 as a farmer-owned cooperative in Milwaukee, and by 1935, Golden Guernsey delivered milk to the homes of 20,000 customers in Wisconsin, according to its website. By 1955, construction began at its current facility at 2101 Delafield St.

Dean Foods was ordered to sell the plant by the U.S. and Wisconsin Departments of Justice in order to settle an antitrust lawsuit because Dean Foods owned about 60 percent of milk processing plants in the state. an investment firm that planned to continue operations of the dairy processing facility.