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Ounces of milk pasteurized annually
Fueling Tiny Fighters: How Milk Donations are
Saving Lives
July 2025 
They say that ingenuity is born out of necessity, and that is certainly true for Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes. When Board President Marissa Grossenbach’s son was born prematurely, the hospital had no donor breast milk available. That experience inspired her and Executive Director Summer Kelly to co-found Mothers’ Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes—the region’s first donor milk program.
Saving tiny lives
Since 2016, the nonprofit has grown rapidly, now working with 90 hospitals across Illinois and Wisconsin to provide pasteurized donor milk to premature and critically ill infants. The organization supports donor families, distributes outpatient milk, and processes over one million ounces annually.
Executive Director Summer Kelly explains, “We prioritize research and development, as well as innovation, so we can scale and grow to ensure every baby gets the milk they need.”
Growth through innovation
Mothers' Milk Bank is one of the largest milk banks in the country and one of only two with a fully automated bottling line. Since donor milk is considered a food, there are rigorous testing and safety protocols in place. Donor moms are screened and blood tested, the milk is collected, tested and pasteurized, and then tested a second time before it reaches the hospital.
"Milk banking is a cross between blood banking and food manufacturing—built
on compassion, compliance, and safety.”
— Summer Kelly, Executive Director, Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes
Currently they provide more than one million ounces of donor milk per year. Until recently, the team was bottling, capping and labeling 2,000 bottles of milk per day… by hand. Thanks in part to a Made in Illinois grant from the Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) they implemented a fully automated line, scaling up operations to deliver even more milk per day to local hospitals. This allows the Mothers' Milk Bank team to focus more on research, safety and outreach, ensuring that all premature babies have access to lifesaving breast milk.
Mothers' Milk Bank's new fully automated assembly line.
Every batch of milk is tested, pasteurized, and tested again to ensure safety and quality.
Ribbon Cutting at Mothers' Milk Bank's new facility in Elk Grove Village.
Mothers' Milk Bank's new, larger facility allows them to house a new bottling line and increase storage capacity.
A bright future for all
Now based in a larger facility in Elk Grove Village, the organization is poised for growth, by at least 20% this year alone. Summer Kelly shares a clear vision, “I see donor milk banking continuing to grow and more babies will access donor milk when they need it so they can have the best start in life.”
For more information, visit Mother's Milk Bank's Website at https://www.milkbankwgl.org/
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Hospitals served in the Midwest
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Bottles of milk produced daily