UPSTATE NY — U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro (R, NY-19) called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to address the milk carton shortage in upstate New York and across the nation.

Supply chain problems at one of the two major manufacturers of milk cartons in the United States have caused schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions to forgo serving milk. 

The shortage is leaving young people without access to a nutritious product, and could soon force dairy farmers to dump milk, a Molinaro spokesperson said.

“We saw how disruptive the baby formula shortage was. If this supply chain disruption persists, it’s going to cause real harm for young people and local farmers,” Molinaro said. “We have to take action now to fix this milk carton shortage and actively pursue long-term solutions like the one I put forward to fortify our supply chain and prevent future disruptions.”

In July, Molinaro and other representatives introduced H.R. 4873, the Food Supply Chain Capacity and Resiliency Act, a bipartisan bill that he said would lower food costs by strengthening the supply chain. It was co-sponsored by Ro Khanna (D, CA-17), Shontel Brown (D, OH-11) and Max Miller (R, OH-7).

The bill would help businesses invest in food processing, storage, distribution and other operations that bring food from the farm to the grocery store.

“The school milk market is an important one for our dairy farmers,” said David Fisher, president of the New York Farm Bureau. “Supply chain disruptions can ultimately affect milk prices that farms receive, and we encourage any support that the USDA can provide during this time.”